


Blockbuster

by butt3rflyclips



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 90s AU, Fuck Rick Riordan, M/M, Mentions of Death, Trans Leo Valdez, drew tanaka gets a redemption arc because, nobody here dies tho :), rollerskater! Piper, skater! Leo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 44,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26027665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butt3rflyclips/pseuds/butt3rflyclips
Summary: Nico di Angelo is a blockbuster employee.He’s sick of that curly-haired bastard on a skateboard who keeps ruining his meticulously crafted VHS displays.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace & Piper McLean, Jason Grace & Piper McLean & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo & Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez, Piper McLean & Drew Tanaka, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez
Comments: 121
Kudos: 209





	1. Clueless

**Author's Note:**

> it's finally here :)
> 
> basically, a 90s valdangelo au!! there's also a lot of The Lost Trio because i love them.
> 
> (keep in mind i was not even alive during the 90s so sorry if some of this is Slightly Inaccurate)
> 
> oh, and even though it’s set in 1999, I included no homophobia/transphobia as well some aspects that would probably not be the norm back then because it is my self-indulgent 90s AU, and I do what I want.
> 
> ok here it is bgiufwgiu;efqgiu;ob

Leo  _ loved  _ Friday-night Blockbuster runs.

It was the perfect way to wrap up a shitty week at school. He, Jason, and Piper would skate down to their local Blockbuster, move the pornos over to the ‘children’s film’ section, and annoy the shit out of the teenaged cashier until he’d relent and let them rent a movie despite their oodles of late fees.

Then, they’d throw the movie into the VCR, order a pizza, and smoke cigarettes in Jason’s musty basement. They’d lament over annoying teachers and bitchy classmates and make quips about dumb teen romcoms.

Leo grinned. He always looked forward to Fridays. Weeks dragged  _ on and on _ due to his ADHD. Movie night was the light at the end of the tunnel, something he knew would be there for him even on the shittiest of weeks. He held the door open for Jason and Piper and bowed dramatically. “After you, I insist.” He did a little hat tip with his beanie to make it extra obnoxious.

Piper rolled her eyes. “You’re so lame,” she said affectionately. Piper entered the Blockbuster, her dirty skates still on her feet, lines of dirt pressing into the carpet. Jason snickered and followed Piper, his blue-and-yellow windbreaker making obnoxious swishy noises as he walked.

Leo walked in after them; his skateboard tucked firmly under his arm. He had the skater look down pat, with his big jeans, skater shirt, and beat-up vans. “What’re we renting this week, y’all?” As he turned down the aisle, the tail of his board knocked into a VHS display. A couple of VHS cases tumbled to the ground.

Jason hummed thoughtfully. “I dunno.” He ran a hand through aggressively middle-parted hair.

“Ooh, how about  _ Clueless _ ?” Piper plucked a case off the shelf excitedly. 

“We’ve watched that one  _ three _ times now!” Leo complained. “I can’t believe you like that movie. It’s for preps.”

“Ugh, I know, I know. I hate that I like it. So not my style,” Piper sighed, forgetting to cover up her valley girl accent in the moment. “But we’re still getting it.”

Jason shrugged. “I guess that’s fine. There’s honestly no point in trying to argue about it.”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “Because Piper  _ always  _ wins our arguments. It’s unfair. She can like, twist her words into making  _ anyone  _ believe in them.”

Jason laughed. “That she can.”

“Remember when I convinced you guys hamsters were government spies?” Piper reminisced, thrusting the VHS case into Leo’s hands.

He accepted the case, tossing it up in the air lightly and catching it. “Good times. Let’s go check out now; I wanna see how fast I can piss him off.” The word  _ him  _ referred to the particular Blockbuster employee who was always on shift Friday nights. He had some generic name that started with an ‘N’- Nick? Nathan?

“It took you twenty-eight seconds last time, let’s see if we can go for three under?” Jason proposed, ready to start the stopwatch feature on his watch. He liked to watch from the sidelines- he was a bit more cautious when it came to causing mayhem. After all, he  _ was _ the junior class president.

“You’re really testing me, Jace. But you know I’m a genius when it comes to messing with people.” Leo loved chaos. He especially loved  _ causing it _ . There was a reason Leo had a reputation among his peers for it. He liked to banter with his teachers until they got so angry they forgot to teach. It was the only reason why jocks didn’t beat him up.

“Well, go. Do we need to buy any snacks?” Piper asked, lifting a ‘We’re hiring!’ sign to read the price of the sour candy on display.

Jason shook his head no. “I got Dunkaroos at home. Now shush, I wanna know when to start my stopwatch.” He knocked his hip into Piper playfully, who hit his hip right back.

“Good luck,” Piper said to Leo, patting his back. 

Leo shot them a grin and a finger gun and strutted up to the counter. The cashier took a deep breath, preparing himself for the exchange. He, too, knew Leo’s reputation for mischief.

“Find everything alright?” The cashier asked dryly, knowing what was to come. His eyes were dark, and his under-eye bags prominent, complimenting his deadpan expression perfectly.

“No duh,” Leo said, slamming the case onto the counter and sliding his Blockbuster card towards the cashier slickly, along with the usual rental fee. His nails were painted blue, the same shade as the Blockbuster card- Piper’s handiwork. “I’m checking out, aren’t I?”

“Yeah. You certainly are,” Nico sighed, scanning the card methodically.

“Well,” Leo said suavely, leaning in closer. “S’not the only thing I’m checking out right now.” He winked, looking the cashier up and down and noticing his nametag. “ _ Nico di Angelo _ .”

Nico did not look too pleased that Leo knew his name now. “Oooookay. That can of worms aside; you have over  _ one hundred _ dollars worth of late fees. Last Friday, you rented  _ Beetlejuice _ , and you still haven’t returned it,” Nico explained, looking at Leo’s renting history.

“Oh, come on, Nico! Just let it slide. Please,” he begged, smiling sweetly. It was a good act, only ruined by the gleam of mischief that clouded his eyes. Still, his curly hair made him look almost innocent.

Jason tutted.  _ “ _ He’s at one-minute now,” he whispered. Piper shook her head disapprovingly and continued watching the exchange play out.

“No. Sorry, but this is  _ Clueless _ . Maybe if it were something shittier, like Air Bud, I’d consider it,” he said, firmly. Leo rested his forearm on the counter, an aura of overdone confidence surrounding him.

“I’m telling you, Nico, you look  _ great _ . That blue polo is seriously doing it for-”

“Shut up.” He rubbed his temple.

Leo gasped dramatically. “What would your manager think if they heard you saying that?” He went back to his usual tone of voice. “I’m trying to blackmail you, by the way. Is it working?”

“I don’t think so.” Nico took a second to think. “Look, if you put some money towards your late fees, I’ll let you rent your movie. There’s our deal,” Nico decided, sick of hearing Leo’s monologue.

“You drive a hard bargain.” Leo rooted through his jeans, pulling out a yellow skittle and fifty-three cents. “Um, Piper? Jason? Do you have any cash?”

Jason provided a single dollar bill, and Piper produced a fiver from her pockets. “You owe me, Valdez,” she grumbled, forking over the cash reluctantly.

Leo grinned. “Thank you! Here you go, six fifty-three and your very own skittle. Have a good day!” He snatched the case and his membership card and sauntered out the door, leaving Nico to stare in disbelief.

“How did I do?” Leo asked, setting down his board. Jason shook his head as he climbed onto his bike.

“Horribly. Took you four minutes, and you needed help from Piper and me.” The trio began to ride off from the store on their respective modes of transportation.

“You’re losing your touch, man.”

“Am not!”   
  
“You are, admit it,” Piper singsonged. 

“Okay, I’m not, that dude’s just pissed all the time,” Leo reasoned, ollieing up a curb and sticking the landing.

“He’s emo or goth or whatever,” Piper said dismissively, speeding up on her skates. “That’s his whole deal.”

“Well, it was just a bad day,  _ or whatever _ ,” Leo said, mocking Piper’s dialect.

“Okay, one, I do  _ not  _ sound like that,” Piper insisted, her voice sounding eerily similar to Leo’s ‘Piper Voice.’ “And no, you just suck now. Learn to cope, Leonidas.”

“Oh, I’m gonna get you for that one, Pipes!” Leo sped up, arms outstretched as Piper shrieked and moved her feet wildly to outpace him.

Jason watched them with a dorky smile on his face, shaking his head and laughing as he sped up to match their pace.

…

They made it to Jason’s dinky little one-story suburban, parking their modes of transport in the garage before walking in. “Sometimes, I wish we were like normal teens, and we just drove cars, you know?” Jason said, panting from the exertion. He remembered the pain of spending hours practicing to get his license, only for Leo and Piper to insist on skating everywhere.

Piper waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, but that’s what everyone else is doing. We’re more eco-friendly! I think that’s cooler than heavily-polluting cars.” She set her little backpack on the counter as though she lived in Jason’s house and went to the fridge to grab a Crystal Pepsi.

“I’m sure Drew, Dawn, and Dash agree. That’s why Dash punted me in the trash!” Leo complained, taking off his beanie and shoving it into his jeans pocket, rustling his curls so he wouldn’t have hat hair.

“The  _ Verbs  _ are all going to be gas station workers, anyway. What they say doesn’t matter,” Piper said. A bit hypocritical of her, considering she stopped wearing makeup just because Drew Tanaka said it looked ugly once.

“You actually call them that stupid name?” Leo scoffed. “I just call them ‘those assholes,’ it’s a lot more descriptive.”

Jason’s college-aged sister, Thalia, got up from her position on the couch and interrupted their exchange tactfully before Leo and Piper could start bickering. “Hey guys,” she greeted, covering the receiver of her cordless phone. “Sorry, I ate your Dunkaroos, Jason.” Her tone was unapologetic. Jason waved her off, and Thalia turned her attention to Jason’s friends.

“Hey, Leo. Learn any new tricks?” Leo shook his head. 

“I’m still working on that thing you taught me.” Thalia nodded.

“I’m sure you’re still breaking the mold, ey Piper?” Piper’s eyes sparkled as she grinned. 

“Yup!” 

“Glad to hear. Yell if any of you guys need anything.” She slumped back onto the couch, putting the cordless phone back to her ear. “Sorry, Reyna, I was just talking to my brother’s friends.”

“Why are you talking to  _ Reyna _ ?” Jason asked. She was the senior class president, and Thalia was a freshman in community college.

“Oh, we’re  _ friends, _ ” Thalia said, coyly. “Now, go watch your movie.”

“Yeah! You two go put in the movie, I’ll call the pizza in,” Piper said, pulling out a flip phone. Leo stared at the thing jealously before shaking it off. He wanted a flip phone, but only  _ daughters of movie stars  _ had them.

“Okay, well...The last one down to the basement rewinds the tape!” Leo yelled, nudging Jason and sprinting down to the basement steps.

Jason yelped, clambering downstairs and beating Leo only barely. “Goddamnit,” Leo complained. As his consolation prize, he claimed the armchair, rewinding the VHS with a pencil before slipping the cartridge into the dusty VCR.

Soon enough, the pizza came, and then they were watching Clueless, eating pizza, and smoking cigarettes in Jason’s basement like they did every Friday night.

Leo took his eyes off the screen for a bit. He had seen Clueless enough times, as it was one of Piper’s favorites. Rewatches were hard with ADHD, so scenes he memorized would drag on and bore him. 

Piper was sitting on the couch, sitting side-saddle. She dressed as she usually did- baggy men’s jeans, a crop top, and little butterfly clips. She laughed along to the movie, brown eyes glittering with amusement.

Then, there was Jason, who wasn’t watching the movie.

Instead, Jason was staring down at Piper’s hand. It was sort of close to his but not really. Her hands were dark and almost dainty looking, with chipping black nail polish. He seemed to be considering something intently before moving his eyes back to the TV, but not before giving Piper one last look.

Leo did the same, looking at the movie but not watching it. His mind became fixated on  _ romance. _

Leo was bad at romance, but he’d be the last to admit that to  _ anybody _ . He always fell for people out of his league without realizing it and never landed any of his pickup lines. 

But he was sort-of good at picking up on other people’s feelings. It was hard for him because he’d always overthink it, but when watching others, it was clear to see how they felt.

Leo wasn’t exactly great with humans, so his knowledge of them felt almost  _ machine-like _ . 

If he was reading the signs right, examining each component of metaphorical machinery correctly, and making inferences based on prior knowledge, something was building between Jason and Piper.

_ Jason and Piper. Jason and Piper. _ Where would that leave him in everything? Would he be an integral part of getting them together? Or would he be a loose bolt, abandoned by the wayside? 

Leo had to find his place in a machine. Otherwise, he’d be alone again, a loose bolt unable to find somewhere he could slot in.

...

“I always forget how good this movie is,” Leo admitted, watching as the credits rolled and squinting to read some of the names.

“I told you, it’s good for a prep movie,” Piper said, opening the pizza box and groaning dramatically when she realized there were no slices left. 

They shared their thoughts on the movie as they always did, making quips about the characters and laughing about some of the inaccuracies.

Soon, the conversation died down. The credits finished, and an awkward silence lingered in the air. Leo stared at the boxy TV, biting the inside of his cheek and pulling at the bottom of his shirt. Jason took notice of his anxiety immediately. Leo wasn’t one to show his emotions much.

“Something on your mind, Leo?” He asked, concern lacing his voice. Leo seemed to snap out of his trance, almost shocked that somebody had noticed him. 

“Um, I was wondering...Do any of you have like, dates for homecoming this year?” He asked, his voice softer, less boisterous.

“Homecoming?” Jason said, the word foreign on his tongue like he hadn’t even considered the event. “It’s only mid-September. Hoco is at the end of October.”

“And,” Piper cut in before Leo could respond. “Homecoming is for losers! Homecoming is just a stupid, overrated, overpriced thing the school is feeding us. Only popular-”

“Yeah, yeah, look, I know Piper. I know. You hate being like the popular crowd. We know.” Leo sighed, his voice serious. “It’s just, like, an excuse, for me. An excuse.” He repeated the phrase like it made his perspective immediately evident to his friends.

“What do you mean ‘an excuse,’ I’m not following…” Piper said, her voice trailing off softly. She pulled her crop-top down self-consciously as she stared at Leo, waiting for a response.

Leo grumbled, scrunching and un-scrunching his nose. He hated not being able to put his thoughts into words correctly. “It’s an excuse. To. Ask someone out, or whatevs. It’s just a nice little… it’s a cliche. To ask someone to Hoco. Yeah, it’s a dumb high school tradition, but I love the idea of it, okay? I wanna ask somebody to Homecoming and go with them. Sue me.”

“Oh!” Piper brightened. Her emotions shifted quickly. Piper could either be very stubborn with her opinions or not at all. “That’s cool! Yeah, let’s reclaim Homecoming; it doesn’t belong to the in-crowd. It’s universal.”

Jason chuckled. “Leo, it’s okay to want to be with someone and ask them out. It’s not dumb to have a crush on someone.” His eyes flickered to Piper for a split second. 

Leo exhaled, letting out a nervous laugh. “I guess you’re right. I just thought you two would make fun of me for some reason. But I just wanna go with someone romantically, have that experience.” Piper’s eyes widened.

“Do you like someone in  _ particular _ ?” She asked, hopefully. “What’s the four one one?”

“Uhh…” Leo didn’t know how to voice his thoughts  _ nicely _ . “No offense, Piper, but you’re a bad wingman.” Piper pouted.

“Rude.”

“It’s true! Remember Kiki?” Leo asked rhetorically, not giving her a chance to respond. “She rejected me- which was fair- and then  _ you _ -”

“We all make mistakes,” Piper said dismissively.

Leo groaned. “You broke into her car and superglued her CD thingy, so it  _ only  _ played  _ Can You Feel The Love Tonight _ from the Lion King.” Jason snorted, then covered it up with a cough after Piper glared at him.

“Well, now she knows not to keep her car unlocked. Hardly breaking in if she’s too stupid to lock her car,” Piper said disdainfully.

“...”

“You still haven’t answered my question, though,” Piper reminded him reluctantly.

Leo let out a puff of air. “Not anyone in particular.” He clicked his tongue, leaning back in his armchair. “I’ve just been hanging onto the thought of going on cute dates and having someone to cuddle up with,” he said, honestly.

“So, Leo has a soft spot, huh?” Jason teased, smiling at his friend. 

“I’m still a bad boy! But like, a little soft, yeah,” he conceded after a beat. “I’m those crabs with the soft tummies, which is their weak point or something. Yeah. I’m a crab.” Leo realized a second later how dumb he sounded.

Piper giggled. “Don’t go telling everyone you’re a crab. That’s not very sexy.”

“Don’t tell people you have crabs or anything, either,” Jason tacked on. Leo shook his head, throwing a balled-up napkin at Jason and shaking his head.

“I suppose I just want experience in the dating field too,” Leo said wistfully. “You see everyone else with their lasting summer romances, and I’m just... left in the dust.”  _ A loose bolt that couldn’t fit into any machine _ .

“I see where you’re coming from,” Jason mumbled.

“Sooooo,” Piper said, pulling the reins on their conversation again. “We’re doing this Homecoming thing after all, huh?” 

“I mean, only if y’all wanna,” Leo was quick to respond, tossing his hands up expressively. “If you don’t want to, that’s okay; I can just-”

“Oh, we’ll go, Leo. Don’t worry,” Jason assured, waving a hand. “It might be entertaining.”

“We can go shopping and plan outfits and all that, too!” Piper frowned. “But it’s  _ so  _ far in the future. How dare you get me excited for something I have to wait for.”

Leo shook his head. “Piper, in the span of ten minutes, you got excited about something you hated a bit ago. Never change.”

“Oh, bite me.”

Jason cleared his throat. “Well, you have plenty of time to scope out the people at our school,” Jason supplied, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “See who’s available and who you like.”

“That’s true!” Leo brightened, straightening his back.   
  


“Do you have a type? You haven’t dated that much in the past few years…” Leo put a hand to his heart dramatically.

“Wow! Way to burn me. Kinda harsh, Pipes.”

“I didn’t even mean it like that!” Piper protested. 

“...I don’t have a type. I just want someone I can vibe with, someone with a sense of humor,” he said. His cheeks tinged red slightly. 

“Very specific,” Jason chimed in. “But let’s cut this short. I have to get to bed. Want me to drive you two?”

“Nah, save the Earth-destroying gas. I’ll skate-”

“It wasn’t a suggestion, Piper,” Jason said seriously. “It’s late out, you don’t know who is out there, and it’s a decent while away from here, and-”

“Okay, mom, cut the crap, let’s go!” Leo shoved his feet into his Vans. He was quick to run from the basement. He had felt vulnerable, his emotions on display. Leo was always ready to run from any situation that made him even a tinge uncomfortable. It was a reaction at this point: things don’t work out? Get away. Run. 

  
He looked at the couch. Thalia was gone, probably working on homework or something. Leo went off into the garage to grab his skateboard and then get into Jason’s car. 

Leo took methodic breaths, giving him a second to calm down. Talking about his feelings had always made him feel uncomfortable. Confrontation wasn’t something he liked. Leo blinked, and in an instant, he was smiling, just in time for Jason and Piper to enter the garage.


	2. Get Real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter two!
> 
> If you haven't deduced this by now, yes, I named all chapters after 90s era movies, and I would highly recommend you watch them :)
> 
> thank y'all so much for the positive reception to chapter one!! you guys are awesome <3

Nico exhaled, back rigid as steady hands sunk into the steering wheel. Pre school traffic was the worst breed of traffic. He was barely-awake and pissed and too impatient to deal with other teenagers who were likely hungover from weekend parties.

‘Oops, I Did It Again’ played from his car radio, in all of its staticky glory. He always forgot to put in one of his CDs before he started driving, so he was stuck listening to fucking Britney Spears. It wasn’t a bad song, but it had gotten overplayed to death and wasn’t something he was interested in listening to early in the morning while stuck in traffic.

Nico slammed on the brake suddenly, lurching forward in his seat. He had barely missed the pack of freshman jay-walking across the street, giggling as though their presence wasn’t a nuisance to everyone else around them. They walked as slow as possible, taking up more room than the crosswalk allowed for.

He ran a hair through shaggy black hair and sped off as soon as the freshman finished their trek across the street, regardless of the traffic light color. A honk likely directed at him blared, but Nico couldn’t even give two shits at that point. 

He turned into the school’s parking lot, picking a spot near the back and under a tree. Nico frowned, knowing that at the end of the day, his car would be covered in bird droppings. It was better to park in the back in the long-run, though. Last time he parked in the front, some asshole keyed a dick into his car. His lips tightened as he exited the vehicle and grabbed his backpack.

His signature Blockbuster uniform was balled up in the backseat. Nico gave a toothy grin. He took solace in the fact that he wouldn’t have to work until Wednesday, which was a pretty dead day. Friday would suck, but that was a problem for future Nico.

Nico walked into the school’s cafeteria, where all the students usually stayed until class started. He had left his Algebra homework to the last minute, as always, so he took the time to finish it up before class started.

His mind wandered as he filled in problem after problem, and he found himself listening in to the Verbs that were sitting behind him. Everyone called the popular crowd the Verbs because that’s what they were- Drew, Dawn, and Dash. It was sort of dumb, but Jeremy Canalave coined the term a few years ago, and it had unfortunately stuck.

“...Saturday was so cool. I can’t believe you scored us tickets, Dash!” Dawn’s stereotypical Californian drawl was teeth-gritting-ly obnoxious. Half of her personality consisted of being Californian.

“It was no problem, babe.” Nico cringed. Dash was  _ not  _ smooth. He was deepening his voice to sound more manly, like a little kid trying to impersonate Batman.

“I still have a hangover, though,” Drew complained. She liked to bitch. That was what she did.

“I don’t!” Dawn chirped happily.

“Yes, but that’s because you and Dash were too busy fucking to come to the afterparty!” Drew scorned. Nico could envision the little smirk she had on her face. 

The freshman that idolized the Verbs oohed, as though Drew had made some sort of elaborate joke. It was a cheap shot, even Nico knew that, but the freshmen weren’t smart enough to figure  _ that  _ out for themselves yet.

Nico’s eyes flickered up, noticing a sharp movement in the corner of his eye. Something was speeding through the cafeteria. He gave his eyes a second and refocused them onto a blurry figure off in the distance. Everyone else’s focus transferred after shortly after Nico’s did, one person’s sparked interest creating a wildfire of turned heads.

The curly-haired bastard who frequented Nico’s blockbuster sped through the cafeteria on his skateboard, a grin splitting his face as he ollied onto a table and maneuvered around the security guard chasing him. A slew of cheers erupted, egging the boy on to make more complex moves.

Nico didn’t realize that boy went to the same high school as him, but it was something he probably should have realized sooner. He watched in amazement as he evaded capture. The brown-haired roller skating girl and the windbreaker-wearing blond guy cheered the loudest until the Vice Principal glared at them and caused them to skitter off.

The guy looked to be a junior, but appearance-wise he could have passed as the same age as him. He drowned in his skater garb, the baggy clothes consuming his skinny frame. He was outrunning the security guard pretty well. The way he manipulated his skateboard was perfectly controlled, as though he were on his feet. He landed every trick- Nico would have loved to see him eat shit, but alas, luck was not on his side that day.

Eventually, the security guard caught up to him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and plucking up his skateboard. The room dissolved back into the state it had been in before immediately, with a few conversations about the skater boy catching the wind in the aftermath.

Nico bit his lip and returned his focus to his homework. “Ugh, Leo is so obnoxious,” Drew complained.  _ So that was his name _ . Leo. It sort of suited him and his elfish look. 

“Oh, I know! I’m so done with skater boys, anyway,” Dawn exclaimed. Nico shot a look at Dawn -- she was leaning into Dash with a moony look in her eyes. The image was ridiculous, frankly. Dash was on the fast track to peaking in high school.

“Jason is hot, though…” Drew said thoughtfully. “I wish he didn’t hang out with them. He could do  _ way  _ better.”

“Yeah!” Some freshman yelled out, her voice high-pitched and shrill.

“Shut up, Becky. You’re lucky we let you sit here in the first place,” Drew responded quickly. “I might just scoop him up from that Piper girl…” The rest of the table snickered, despite Drew’s lack of a humorous statement. Nico rolled his eyes.

The bell rang a second later, and Nico was free from the torture that was  _ listening to the Verbs _ . Everyone was carted off to class by teachers who wanted to get the day done as fast as possible. Nico blended into the crowd, taking his regular trek. He walked alone, ducking his head to avoid stares and weaving around groups of kids.

He thought about the Verbs’ and their conversations. They were dry, sure, but a part of Nico wanted to be with them. Well, not them in particular, but just any group of friends.

He didn’t fit into a crowd, per se.

The school was cliquey as hell. There were the jocks, the nerds, the loners, et cetera. But there wasn’t a clique Nico felt he could slot into. He never really tried to put himself into any of the groups, but part of him wished he did. Now that he was a sophomore, it felt like it was too late to join in on everyone else’s long-standing friendships. He wondered how different life would be if he had put himself out there—stepped into the sun and made friends.

But it’s not like he even deserved friendship in the first place. Nico would be alone forever, and there was nothing he could do. It felt like Groundhog Day, where every single day was just repeating itself day-in, day-out. 

Nico sighed wistfully and settled into his seat, preparing for history class to start.

…

Nico walked in through the back of Blockbuster, adorned in his oversized polo and his tight khakis. Friday already- weeks were blurring by. He fastened his nametag to his left breast as he walked.

And, of course, his assistant manager was there. Nico closed his eyes, preparing himself for the tortuous shift that was to come.

Sarah was an insanely intimidating woman. She was a goddamn bodybuilder and was an intimidating one at that- not a fun combination, especially considering Nico’s flimsy build. She nodded a greeting to him, apparently not deeming him worthy of a verbal one.

Nico felt on edge for the entirety of his shift, back rigid, and a fake smile plastered on his face as he recommended new arrivals and peddled slightly-stale sour candy and made it clear that “Yes, we’re hiring!”. It was ridiculous how desperate Sarah was to hire new employees.

After nearly every customer, Sarah would chime in from the other counter with her critiques. She was nitpicking at best, but Nico didn’t want to call her out on it. Pissing off your buff boss was not a good idea.

The bell chimed, signaling another customer had walked in. Nico flinched and spoke his greeting at reflex- “Welcome to Blockbuster!”

“Hey, Neeks!” 

Fuck.

Leo waved wildly with one hand, his skateboard tucked under his other arm. Piper grinned from behind him, white smile contrasting against dark skin. Jason smiled, hands tucked into his jeans, and eyebrows upturned.

He watched as they maneuvered around the store. Nico organized the ‘New Releases’ section as he waited for the trio to check out. He was supposed to trail them and ask them if they needed help finding anything- but there was no way Nico was going to embarrass himself doing that, even if his boss was there. 

Leo approached the counter a few minutes later, wielding a copy of  _ Jumanji _ and the four-day-late copy of  _ Clueless  _ he had rented the previous week. “Fancy meeting you here, Nico. Looking hot as ever.” He winked, sliding over his two VHS cases.

Nico put on his The Customer Is Always Right smile, ignored Leo’s statement, and scanned the cases, followed by Leo’s card. “I’m sorry, sir,” Nico said forcefully, noting his assistant manager’s presence. “But you have unpaid late fees; thus, you cannot check out  _ Jumanji _ . I apologize.”

Leo laughed, the sound too loud and forced to be genuine. “Hilarious, Nico. I don’t see why a few ‘late fees’-” he rolled his eyes and made air quotes with his free hand (as though the concept of deadlines made no sense to him). “-should hold me back from the constitutional right to watch Jumanji-”

“Is there a problem?” Sarah cut in, no doubt as sick of Leo’s shit as Nico was. Jason and Piper shared wide-eyed looks, afraid of being guilty by association.

Leo’s eyes finally settled on Sarah’s face, then her buff arm, then her badge, which read ‘Ass. Man.’ 

“N-no, I just wanted to check out  _ Jumanji _ , but apparently, my  _ fees  _ are withholding me from doing so.” It was clear Leo would do whatever he could just to rent a copy of fucking  _ Jumanji.  _ It wasn’t even a good movie.

“Step aside,” Sarah hissed at Nico. She clicked her nails against the store’s computer keyboard, eyes widening when she got to the page she was looking for. “Sir, you have over  _ one hundred _ dollars worth of late fees. The fact that someone even allowed you to rent with this much debt-” she gave a glare towards Nico. “-is absurd.” Nico braced himself for the chewing out he was going to get after Leo left.

A beat passed. “So, can I rent Jumanji, or…”

“No!”

“When can I rent it, then?” Leo countered, resting his board against the counter and folding his arms. He seemed dead-set on challenging Sarah.

“You can rent it when you pay off your debt. If it’s not paid off in a month, I’m going to have to revoke your membership and report this to your parents,” Sarah said firmly. Leo gave a pleading look to Jason and Piper- who exchanged a glance, nodded, and sped out the door.

“Well, the problem is, Sarah- beautiful name, by the way, is it-” 

“You’re already on thin ice here, bud.” Nico watched on. It was almost cathartic to see Leo get his comeuppance. 

“I don’t exactly have a job, so it’s going to be hard for me to pay off my debts...can’t you just pardon me, miss?” Leo asked, batting his eyelashes.

“That’s not how it works. If you’re going to just argue, I’m going to need to ask you to leave.” Sarah rubbed her temples. “Nico, do we still have aspirin under the register?” Nico nodded. “Perfect.”

Leo looked around, searching the store for an answer and landing on the laminated sign on the counter.  _ We’re Hiring!  _ It read, typed in comic sans font, and positioned off-center. 

“What if I worked here? I mean, I don’t have experience, and I’m pretty irresponsible, but like, it’s a start.”

“...fine. But only because we’re severely understaffed, okay?” Sarah admitted, fetching him a piece of paper and thrusting it in his hands. “Fill this stuff out, bring it back, and we’ll train you up as quickly as possible.”

“Awesome!” He made a grab for  _ Jumanji _ , but Nico swiped it away. “Rude. Not the way you should be treating your coworker!” At the sound of the word  _ coworker _ , Nico groaned.

“Joy.”

“Hey,” Sarah said. “You’re not off scot-free either. You get to train him up since you let him rack up all that debt in the first place. Lord knows I’m not training that motherfucker.”

“Goddamnit,” Nico muttered, grabbing the aspirin and downing a pill at once.

…

Leo burst into the basement, where Piper and Jason were watching a VHS copy of  _ Heathers  _ that belonged to Thalia. It was their go-to movie every time they couldn’t rent something. “Thanks for the help, assholes!” He pouted, slumping into his armchair. “Now, I’m working at this stupid Blockbuster to pay off  _ our  _ debt.” Leo pouted.

“Well, let’s look at it this way,” Jason said. “Only  _ you _ got in trouble. We’re off the hook. Why get all three of us in trouble?”

Piper nodded, unapologetic. “Yeah, I didn’t wanna be lumped in with you. You understand, right?”

“No! Piper, you’re rich. Your dad could buy out the entirety of fucking Blockbuster. Can’t you just lend me a hundred bucks?” Leo begged. Piper shook her head.

“I’m cut off, dude, remember? After I crashed that bus, my dad got pissed.” She rolled her eyes, like her crashing a bus was on par with forgetting to do the dishes.

“I think it’ll be good. Teach you responsibility,” Jason said, trying to make Leo see the good in the situation. Leo sighed.

“I guess you’re right.” He grabbed a can of soda from the six-pack on the carpet and snapped it open. “It would be nice to get some pocket money if this job-thing works out.”

“Instead of relying on me for money?” Piper snarked.

“Instead of relying on money you stole from your dad,” Leo agreed, sipping his soda and leaning back in his chair.

“Potato, pah-tah-toe,” Piper responded, glancing back at the television for a split second. Her face contorted into a smirk after a beat. Watching Veronica and JD make out seemed to have awakened something in Piper.

“Did you have some sort of epiphany?” Jason chuckled, watching Piper’s expression change.

“Yeah, what gives?”

“You’re gonna start working at Blockbuster.”

“Yes. That’s...that’s what I said when I walked in here?” Leo said.

Piper grinned. “Well, who goes to Blockbusters? That’s right, teens our age. Possible love interests. Hot people.” She emphasized her point with her hands.

“Oh!” Leo said. “Oh…” Leo realized. “That’s...that’s good news. Great news.”

“You two are such idiots,” Jason said, shaking his head. “You’re going to try to pick up chicks at the Blockbuster? With that manager girl breathing down your neck?”

“I’ll make it work,” Leo dismissed. “Maybe she’ll just assume I’m extra friendly towards all the hot guys.”

“Yeah, or she’ll fire you for being bisexual,” Piper snorted. 

“I’ll start a union about it. Social justice!”

“Right,” Jason snorted, looking down. “You go do that. I’ll sit here and watch  _ Heathers _ . God, they remind me of the  _ Verbs  _ or whatever you call them.”

“Veronica seems cool though- even if she’s a murder accomplice,” Piper added. “And she’s kinda hot.”

“Yeah, shit, young Winona Ryder and Christian Slater could both get it!” Leo whistled. “Sorry, Jason. You’re the only straight one here.”

Jason gave him an odd sort-of smirk. “It’s fine.” He loved his friends sometimes.  They were so queer (literally), and it almost made him feel like he wasn’t cool enough to hang out with them- he was just some blond, athletic dude who happened to be a class president. But they were friends, and Jason loved it.

He felt like he could just be himself around Piper and Leo. Being the ‘perfect blond guy’ stereotype opened him up to manipulation most of the time. Teachers would push him to make new friends or sign up for some new sport or club that would make the school look better.  Jason didn’t really like being pushed into a mold. 

His stepmother, Julia, had been the worst at it. Archery. Sparring. Leadership programs. Most of his childhood was spent being herded around to different places, like he had to become some sort of prodigy just so other people could reap the benefits from it.  Piper and Leo weren’t like that. They teased him for making dad jokes, stole his glasses, and just viewed him as who he was.  _ Jason _ . He was a person, not something that could be improved or expanded upon. Just Jason. He didn’t feel pressured to be someone society wanted him to be when he was around his best friends.

A part of him didn’t want to ruin that by being honest about his feelings towards Piper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LISTEN i know calling the popular crowd 'the verbs' is dumb, but it's a hallmark of late 90s early 2000s shows/movies to call the popular group something like that (the heathers, the plastics, the a listers), so i added it in lol
> 
> the jasiper plot is prrreeetty minor so yeah
> 
> remember, Blockbuster updates every friday :)
> 
> join the valdangelo discord server?? https://discord.gg/6WQrydE
> 
> talk to me on tumblr/twitter: @butt3rflyclips


	3. Drive Me Crazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3! You are all AMAZING :) we just cracked over 200 hits on AO3, along with 7 bookmarks and 37 kudos. on fanfiction.net, we got 2 followers and 3 favorites. all in the first three weeks of this fic! I'm always very nervous to share my writing, and I'm glad that yall are enjoying my stupid work. it means so much. i know that this isn't that big of a deal, but it kind of is to me.
> 
> leave a comment/review, I respond to all of them and they make me happy! the story is going to be picking up soon. we are officially 1/5 of the way through Blockbuster, pretty fast.

...

Leo walked into the Blockbuster right before it opened as though he owned the place, clutching a mustard-stained application form in one hand and his skateboard in the other. "What's up, boss! Here's my application." He waved it in the air like a white flag ( _Surrendering yourself to the man_ , Piper would say).

Sarah wrinkled her nose and snatched it from him, skimmed the paper, and nodded, then flicked it into the recycling bin. Three points. "Yeah, you're hired," she decided quickly. "Nico!" she shouted. Her voice was broken glass, clear and sharp.

Nico poked his head around the corner from where he was restocking shelves. "Yes?" He did not look very thrilled to be working at eight in the morning.

"Train him up." She pointed to Leo, who grinned and gave Nico finger guns.

"You were serious about working here?" Nico said in disbelief. Leo nodded, that shit-eating grin still plastered on his face. Nico groaned. "I thought you were just bullshitting about that."

"Nope! I am a working man now," Leo chimed in.

"Okay, enough of the dilly-dallying!" Sarah exclaimed. "Hurry up and get to training. And Leo, park that skateboard somewhere next time!"

"Yes ma'am," Leo saluted, tossing his board over the counter when she wasn't looking. Nico sighed, preparing himself for a long day with Leo's over-dramatic ass. "Looks like we're officially coworkers," Leo sang, slinging an arm over Nico's shoulder.

"Let's go to the back room now," he said through gritted teeth, shrugging off Leo's arm and leading the way back.

Leo smirked. "Oh, I thought I was paying off my debts as a cashier, but you know what, I'm not opposed to prostitution-"

"Shut up and let me get you your uniform. What size are you?" Nico asked, walking into the back room and filtering through the uniform boxes.

"Is that a euphemism?"

Nico growled, thrusting a medium-sized polo and a pair of khakis into Leo's hands. "Just put this on."

"Okay," Leo said, rolling his eyes. "Would've expected a _skimpy maid outfit_ or something with the way you've been dirty talking…"

"I'm not dir- are you seriously just gonna change right here?" Leo had started to undo his belt without any prompting.

"Yeah, man. Thought you'd appreciate it more."

"Fuck off." He turned around before Leo could take off his pants and wheeled a battered TV in from the corner, as though Leo was in elementary school, and they were watching Bill Nye. He ejected a _Pokemon_ VHS from the player and put a new VHS in its place. He sat cross-legged on the ground, patting the spot next to him. "Come watch the training video."

Leo nodded, brushing dust off his Blockbuster polo. "This thing is kinda sick. Do I get a nametag, too?" Nico rooted in another box and handed him a chipped nametag.

"Why doesn't this say _Leo Valdez_? My name is not _Tabitha Milford_ , what the fuck?" He pinned it to his shirt, nonetheless.

"Look, asshole, we're on a budget. We're understaffed, and we don't have time to go to Best Buy and use their label maker. Take the tag or leave it." Leo groaned, setting his eyes on the training video.

It was your bog-standard 90s training video- featuring cheesy dialogue, bad acting, and plenty of boom mics. They watched in silence. "Wow. This is lame as hell," Leo complained.

"Yeah." Nico was unsympathetic. He wished he could pull out his Gameboy instead. He stared at the ground instead, until pulling his gaze to Leo, mapping out his features. Out of pure boredom, of course. He never really looked that hard at Leo.

Leo's polo was oversized, and his khakis fit him too tightly. His hair was messy and overgrown and had no beanie to hide it. His hands fidgeted and twitched when he had nothing to do. Little flaws were splotched across his face, zits and moles and scars littering his skin. His body was scrawny, underdeveloped like he had starved during puberty.

Part of Nico wondered if Leo was just overcompensating for his flaws when he cracked jokes and fake-flirted.

The tape ended. It was a short training video. Nico flicked his eyes away before Leo noticed he was staring. "Okay, now that that's over with, I have to show you the inner workings of the store."

"Is that a euphe-"

"No."

…

Nico took Leo around the store, giving him a brief run-down of the place. He taught Leo how to operate the register, handle late fees, and restock shelves in the way Sarah wanted them to. He even tried to explain the sales pitch they were supposed to use to sell candy, but Leo said he would "use his natural charisma" instead.

"This seems easy enough," Leo said confidently. Nico snickered.

"It's easy until you have a bunch of whiny families come in. The _Winstons_ are the worst by far," Nico complained, opening the other counter for Leo. "The mom always asks to speak to the manager."

Leo sat in his little swivel chair, observing the counter he was working in. "Oh yeah? I bet she's white."

"Yup," Nico said, popping the 'p' and settling into his own counter. "I'll forward them to you, Tabitha." Nico grinned. Having another person around to help might actually _not_ suck.

"Oh, come on. Why do I have to deal with them?" Leo said, rolling around in his chair. Nico leaned over and stopped his chair, causing Leo to fly out of it. "Oof." He landed on his rear, springing up and slumping back down. "Rude."

Nico smiled. "Whatever. Sarah's gone now, to the other Blockbuster location. She rarely visits this one, anyway."

Leo snorted. "Good. She's a dick."

Soon, customers began rolling in, renting things left and right so they could spend their Saturdays watching Disney Movies or playing Pokemon Snap. Leo learned how to handle the register very quickly. "Care to throw in a bag of Sour Patch for your sister, miss?" he would offer to an obvious mother who would swoon and buy it just because she was flattered.

"Have a great day!" Nico crossed his arms and huffed. "What?"

"Isn't that a little manipulative?"

"No," Leo said. "I need to get my bonus somehow."

"We don't get bonuses, honestly," Nico admitted. "I got one _once_ at the end of the school year, but that's it."

Leo groaned, but then put on a smile when he saw there was a customer in line. "Find everything alright? Good." He scanned the cases. "Anyway, Neeks, are there any _benefits_ to working here?"

Nico hummed. "Uh, when the candy gets stale, we get to have it for free."

"That's it?"

"Look, man. This isn't some sort of fancy establishment. I'm pretty sure people do drugs in our bathrooms. It's a Blockbuster, for fuck's sake, get real."

"Really? Jeez." Leo waved off his customer. "Can we take home any movie we want for as long as we want?" He asked, hopefully.

"No, Sarah might catch us. We get an extension on late fees, though." Nico was starting to get sick of Leo's questions.

"She's not the boss of you."

"She kind of is. She's the assistant manager, remember?" Nico swiped a bit of hair behind his ear and rested his arm on the counter.

"Fine, let me rephrase that," Leo said, pausing for dramatic effect. "You're not her _bitch_."

Nico glared from over the counter. "I'm nobody's bitch. She's just my boss."

"Boss, shmoss! Live a little. Why work here if you're not going to break the rules?" Leo asked, poking his head up and tapping on the counter.

"..."

"Rules are _meant_ to be broken!"

"Nothing is meant to be broken, that's stupid."

"Piñatas," Leo countered, finger-gunning Nico.

"...Just go help the old lady in line." Leo beamed.

"You got it! Hello, ma'am, find everything alright?" Leo scooped up her rentals and scanned her card, logging it into the computer.

"Yes, son," she mumbled.

"Good. Now, before you go, would you be interested in some Junior Mints? How about some Sour Patch?" He held up the candies he listed as though he was on an _as seen on TV_ commercial.

"No, thank you, dear," the old woman said, grabbing her VHS tape and her Blockbuster card. "I have diabetes."

"Oh, shit, sorry!" Leo blurted out, setting down the candy boxes. Nico hid a smirk behind his hand.

The old lady glared at him, slipping her things into her purse. "Young man, I don't like that language." She humphed and hit him upside the head with her bag, sauntering off as she mumbled under her breath about how ungrateful the youth are.

"Ow! That lady had a mean right hook."

Nico snickered at Leo's anger.

"Is this funny to you?"

"Yeah," Nico says, unapologetic.

"Rude."

Nico shrugged, stretching his limbs noncommittally. "I told you people are batshit here."

They kept working, helping out a few more customers. Nico assumed Leo had gone silent when after ten minutes, he broke the silence between them.

"...Any hot chicks go here? Or guys?" Leo asked curiously, eyes wandering the store and looking everywhere but at Nico.

"Guys?" Nico picked up the word.

"Whatever, I'm bisexual. You have a problem, di Angelo?" Nico blinked. That's the first time Leo had seemed truly serious. Nico saw a hint of anxiety in his eyes, and for a split second, Nico could see his mask fall, a tinge of insecurity exuding Leo for only a moment.

It matched the same look he saw in the mirror every day.

Maybe there was a little more to Leo than he saw. But in an instant, Leo was grinning again.

Nico could still see the tiniest bit of unsureness in his face. "No, I don't care if you're bisexual. And...I guess there are hot people here? I don't pay attention to my customers."

"But you remembered me, am I special?" Leo wondered.

"Sure, I remembered you, but not really for a good reason."

Leo feigns offense. "Go-lee! You always attack me like that."

"Do you know how many parents yelled at me because you would move pornos over to the children's-"

"Okay, okay, sorry. But in my defense, it was funny, right?"

Radio silence.

"You think I'm funny!"

"I think no such thing." Nico's mouth went tight, a little dimple forming in his right cheek.

"Ahem."

"Sorry, sir, I'll be right with you, my coworker just gets a little crabby on Saturdays." Nico hit his head against the counter and groaned loudly.

He couldn't wait until Leo got fired/paid off his debts. Whichever came first.

...

Leo did not stop asking Nico questions, unfortunately. Nico bored out of his mind, humored them reluctantly.

"When did you start working here?"

Nico racked his brain for the answer. "April of this year."

"What's your favorite show?"

"I don't watch much TV."

"What's your full name?"

"It's on my nametag, Tabitha."

Leo blinked. "Oh, I assumed your nametag was the wrong name like mine is."

"Well, it's not."

The guy seemed to have an endless stream of shit to say. Awkward silences and extended pauses did not cut it for him. Nico could _feel_ the ADHD reverberating off of Leo. From the way he jumped from subject to subject, to the long, one-sided conversation they had about skateboards, and the fact that he was able to make a fucking _race car_ out of the office supplies they kept on the counter.

Nico watched as Leo raced the little car around the counter, jumping it over erasers and making little donuts on the job application forms. "How did you do that with paper clips and shit?" He had to ask.

"So, I guess _you_ wanna initiate the conversations now?" Leo teased, flicking the car into the trash and slumping over in his chair. Little flakes of picked-off nail polish littered the carpet around him.

Nico watched the car soar into the trash. "You're just going to...you're just going to throw it away?" Leo had spent a good five minutes on it just to toss it.

Leo shrugged, weirded out by the fact that Nico cared. "I mean, yeah? It's just a stupid car." He got to work immediately on something new, fiddling his hands and creating something with pen-stained fingers. "I'll just make a helicopter or something."

"Wow, okay, Albert Einstein."

"Whatever, Bob Nanna."

…

Nico headed home after work, humming along to the radio and nursing a headache after listening to Leo all day. He made it back home fairly quickly, thanks to some light speeding and good luck. He shuffled into his house, a suburban identical to every other house on the block. It was relatively upscale, too, thanks to his father's money.

Nico didn't need to work, but it gave him something to do after school and enough spending money to buy some extra things he wanted.

"How was work?" His stepmother asked, idly watching television and lounging on the couch. She didn't even bother to look up when he arrived. Nico shrugged.

"Cool, I suppose. You?" Nico asked, apathetically. They had the same exchange every day. Persephone would ask him how his day went, he'd say it was _cool_ no matter how shitty it had been, and she would say her day was-

"So-so," she said indifferently. "I made a lasagna."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

That was the extent of his relationship with his stepmother. It was a merely tolerable one at best.

As for his father, he worked late hours, so Nico only saw him in the mornings. Even then, their relationship wasn't much more _stellar_ than his begrudging relationship with his stepmother.

Nico could tell his stepmother wasn't big on Nico- and he couldn't blame her; he was just crammed awkwardly into their quiet life when his mother died. It was a little better when Bianca was alive, but she wasn't anymore.

It's not like Nico made an effort to connect with his parents, anyway. He was content with keeping it the way it was. In three years, he would go to college or get a job or something or move out.

He cut a piece of lasagna, sticking a fork in it and silently bringing it up to his bedroom. It felt like he and his father and stepmother were just roommates instead of a singular family unit: a little sad, but nothing Nico wasn't used to.

Nico ate his lasagna while reading through his upcoming notes to prepare for an approaching chemistry test. He wasn't an academic person, but when you had no friends, there wasn't much to do at the end of the day. Having good grades would help him get to college (what he would do in college, Nico was unsure of).

He finished up his work, throwing on a pair of sweats and tying up his hair. Nico smiled, grabbing his translucent purple Gameboy Color from his backpack. It was one of his first big purchases with money made entirely by him. Pokemon Yellow was permanently stuck into the cartridge slot, visible through the purple plastic.

Nico admired the inner-workings of the Gameboy through the clear plastic. It had always fascinated him how the components of the machine worked. Somehow, all those green circuit boards and connected wires worked together to load his game of Pokemon. He never understood it himself.

Nico opened the game, immediately turning around and pressing a on his Pikachu. Nico smiled. It was an utterly charming game.

Nico adored Pokemon. He had 'Pokemania,' as all those news stations put it. He had caught nearly every Pokemon, memorized every single Pokemon and its typing, and was well-versed in the lore of the game. He would spend longer than he was proud to admit pouring over his extensive Pokemon card collection (thank god for his minimum wage job; otherwise, he couldn't fund his Pokemon addiction).

Sometimes, Nico thought about what it would be like to share his interest in Pokemon with others. To be able to play the card game with someone. To watch episode after episode of the anime and talk about it and laugh along with somebody who shared his love for the franchise.

Instead, Nico spent his Saturdays playing Pokemon. Instead, Nico stared at the cards alone. Instead, Nico stole copies of Pokemon from Blockbuster and watched them in the backroom during his breaks.

It was somewhat pathetic, and Nico knew it. It's not like he dared to ask someone else to play with him- he was a sophomore, for fucks sake. Asking someone to play Pokemon with him would be like walking up to Dash and saying, "Hey, I'd really love to get beaten up right now."

Nico knew he was overthinking it, but he didn't care. He leaned back in bed and opted to look through his Pokedex instead.

…

Even though Jason put on the 'perfect student' image, he hated being on the student council.

Really, he was only doing it so he could get into some good college. But if he could quit, he would. Realistically, Jason knew everyone on the student council would be disappointed.

Jason had worked hard to be junior class president, going from a lowly representative during freshman year to now being in charge of the whole junior class.

Everyone on the committee was kind of pretentious, though. With the exception of Reyna, who was the senior class president, nobody else seemed to have a personality beyond student council. Jason figured he fell into that category until he became good friends with Leo and Piper.

They met every other Tuesday after school in the same empty Science classroom and discussed the same three topics: upcoming events, budget issues, and troublemaking.

"Detention rates have increased by 3% from last year," Rachael, the senior vice president, said. She was notoriously upset by the fact that she wasn't the class president. Jason had sat through one too many rants from her. "What are some ways we can incentivize people to stay out of trouble?"

"We can encourage people to keep their friends in line," a meek freshman representative mumbled.

Rachael shook her head. "Yeah, not gonna happen. I'm sure Jason has tried that several times with _his_ friends," she said pointedly.

Jason resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I know, my friends suck apparently."

Reyna hummed. "She has a point. If you could get both Leo and Piper to stop getting in trouble, the detention rate would plummet 50%."

They were having this conversation again, huh? Every single student council meeting seemed to always transform into a push for Jason to abandon his friends and fall into the cliquey nature of the high school. He was always regarded as too 'cool' or 'good' to be with Piper and Leo.

Honestly, Jason always thought of it as the opposite, but clearly, he was just going to keep getting pressured until the day he graduated or the day he quit. "They're their own people, Reyna," Jason voiced. "I can't control them."

Reyna, understanding Jason's view, nodded and moved the meeting along to the next topic before any of the freshman could chime in awkwardly.

Man, Jason couldn't wait until graduation.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that was chapter 3!
> 
> talk to me on tumblr/twitter: butt3rflyclips
> 
> join the valdangelo discord server here: https://discord.gg/6WQrydE
> 
> ^^ the valdangelo discord server is a small little group chat full of valdangelo lovers, we are always looking to find new people to talk to :)


	4. But I'm a Cheerleader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the support, as always!!  
> i seriously cannot believe everyone is enjoying it. 
> 
> have a good day !!

The cafeteria was flooding with students, teeming with laughter, filled with rowdy teens letting loose while they could and teachers who were too tired to intervene. The entire situation was much too chaotic for Nico to handle, so he would eat lunch in his car.

In a similar vein, Piper, Leo, and Jason ate their lunch in the hallway outside of the cafeteria. Their conversations echoed through the halls, snippets of laughter being audible through classroom doors. It was a good thing they didn’t eat in the cafeteria, really, especially after Piper’s complaints pertaining to the lack of vegan options, Jason’s frequent ketchup packet usage, and Leo’s general Leo-ness .

“I’m telling you,” Piper insisted, waving her fork wildly. Leo yelped as the utensil traveled dangerously close to his eye. “Ms. Chu has it out for me.”

“Really? She’s nice to me,” Jason said with a shrug, taking a bite of his PB&J. Piper vehemently shook her head.

“No way!” She stabbed her fork into her salad aggressively. “I’m telling you, she’s mean to me specifically. I mean, maybe it’s because I constantly tell her why the presidents were bastards, but she needs to stop feeding us this pro-America propaganda.”

“Word,” Leo pumped a fist. He stuck his hand into a bag of Hot Cheetos. “She called me a thug!”

“I guess it’s just because I’m white. The woman always tells me to stop hanging out with  _ those hooligans _ .” Jason snorted.   
  


Leo snickered. “Whatever. You won’t, will you?” Leo asked. He had tried to look clandestine, but there was a hint of worry behind his eyes like he was genuinely afraid of Jason leaving him.

Jason shook his head. “No way, Leo.” He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Piper grinned. Her teeth had bits of lettuce stuck in them. “Good.”

“Yeah,” Leo chimed in. “You need me. Both of you do. Y’all’d’ve been  _ toast  _ without me here to guide you in life.”

“Y-y’all’d’ve been?” Piper stuttered through a mouthful of salad.

“What the  _ fuck  _ does that mean?” Jason asked, terrified of Leo, emphasized by his swear. The word ‘fuck’ almost sounded foreign coming out of Jason ‘Class President’ Grace.

“It’s a Texas thing,” Leo shrugged unapologetically. “Y’all wouldn’t’ve --”

“Aaaanyway,” Jason said, trying to burn the word ‘y’all’d’ve’ from his memory as fast as he could. “What movie should we watch tonight?”

“I have work,” Leo said, glumly, flopping against the wall. “I’m a working man now, remember?”

“Oh, right. Mr.  _ Movie Man _ is too good for us now,” Piper sang airily. She carded back a loose bit of hair, tucking it behind her ear, oblivious to Jason’s eyes tracing her movements.

“Hey! Believe me, I wish I could go with y’all-” Jason clenched a fist. “-but I gotta repay my debts quickly. And working isn’t fun. I thought it would be fun annoying di Angelo, but I’m not even a week in, and I’m booorrreeeddd.” He stretched out the word obnoxiously and leaned into Jason’s shoulder.

“Well,” Jason said, patting Leo awkwardly. “You won’t be paying off your debts anytime soon. You’re making five bucks an hour.”

Leo groaned into Jason’s side. “They need to raise the minimum wage. Fight the system!” Piper’s eyes sparkled at the prospect of activism.

“Hell yeah! Better worker’s rights! Let’s go!” Piper pumped a fist. She was huge on fighting for rights- going as far as becoming a vegetarian. Leo had to admit; the protests were quite fun to attend. 

“You’re acting like you’re ever going to have to work a day in your life. I don’t know why you want to be an environmentalist or whatever. You could just mooch off of daddy McLean for life,” Leo pointed out. 

“I don’t like that you’re calling my dad that,” Piper muttered. “And I wanna make my own money; I don’t wanna rely on my dad. I wanna prove I can make it on my own.” 

“I digress! Anyway, back to my problems,” Leo said before Piper could go on another one of her signature rants. 

“Right.” Jason straightened up, signaling to Leo he needed to move.

“I’m still single. Which sucks.” Leo begrudgingly removed himself from Jason’s side.

“Quit your moping,” Piper chastised, adjusting her hair barrettes. “I’m not exactly making out with people left and right.”

“It’s different. I think, at least,” Leo said quickly.

“Have you tried to flirt with anybody?” Jason asked. 

Leo scoffed. “Not unironically. Speaking of which, Jason, your glasses make you look utterly sexy today. And have you been working out?” He pressed his hands into Jason’s biceps dramatically.

Jason laughed. There was a reason Leo was his best friend: he was funny. “Shut up, man. I’m not going with you to homecoming.”

“How about a pact: if I can’t get a-”

“No way, Leo. I love you and all, but I’m into someone else,” Jason said seriously, setting down his sandwich and staring at his Air Jordans.

“Really? Who is it?” Piper asked, her curiosity peaked. Jason’s eyes widened- for a second, he had forgotten that Piper was  _ right there _ .

“...”

“Is it someone in our Algebra class?” Piper asked suddenly, racking her brain for a list of girls Jason would frequently talk with. “Ooh, is it Dina P? She  _ is  _ in Honor Society with you…”

“Is it  _ me _ ?” 

Jason looked up. Drew Tanaka, the ringleader of the Verbs, was sauntering down the halls, a strange look prominent in her eyes. She was dressed like Phoebe from  _ Friends _ , with a mesh top, black camisole, and a mini-skirt. Chunky sneakers stamped down the hallway, her footsteps echoing down the halls, warning everyone in a ten-mile radius of her presence.

“What?” Jason asked, baffled (and wondering how he hadn’t seen her coming sooner).

“Fuck off, Drew,” Piper said, rolling her eyes. 

“So hostile! Honestly, Pipecleaner, you should be lucky I’m even  _ interacting  _ with you losers.” Drew glared pointedly at Leo, who was mouthing the word  _ Pipecleaner --  _ no doubt a nickname he was going to adopt.

Piper clenched a fist and grit her teeth. “You really think you’re all that and a bag of chips.”

Drew laughed, the sound pitchy and hollow. “No, Piper. I  _ know  _ it.” She liked to emphasize her words like it would amplify her point. Her words were clean and firm, almost pleasant if you didn’t pay attention to the words she was speaking. 

“Why are you even here?” Piper asked, turning her head away. Piper’s voice was beautiful and light, carrying a similar effect to Drew’s but in a much more subtle manner. 

“Well, I was just getting back from a lunchtime meet-up with some of the other cheerleaders.” Her voice was syrupy sweet. “Of course, you got kicked off the cheerleading squad freshman year, Piper, so you wouldn’t-”

Leo burst out laughing. “Oh my god. Piper, you were a  _ cheerleader _ ?” Drew glared at Leo. She didn’t like it when people interrupted her, especially when said  _ people  _ were as below her as Leo.   
  


“Yes, before we met, and I don’t wanna talk about it right now, Leo,” she hissed, nails digging into his arm.

“You couldn’t even tell your friends that, huh? You only got on the team because of your daddy.” She stretched out the last word and made it higher-pitched, mimicking a small child.

“And you were only nice to me because you wanted to meet my dad!” Piper retorted.    
  
Jason and Leo shared a look of concern. Jason decided to diffuse the situation, a skill he was well-versed in. “Drew, why are you here?”

“Well!” She said, dragging Leo away from Jason’s side forcefully and sitting cross-legged in the spot Leo was just in. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to come to my Homecoming party. It’s going to be way better than the lame-ass school dance!” She squealed. “It’s part Halloween-costume party and part Homecoming. What do you say?”

“Um…” Jason trailed off. He shot a look to Piper for help- she refused to meet his eyes.  _ Shit. _

“We’re in!” Leo said, throwing an arm around Drew.

“Ew!” She whined, shoving Leo off of her. “I wasn’t asking  _ you _ . You’re weird.” She added like she had an insult quota she needed to fill. The retort was programmed in her like a machine, Leo could tell from the way the words didn’t meet her eyes.

Even with that knowledge, Leo was upset. He crossed his arms and sulked quietly with Piper, whose eyes were downcast.

“So what do you say, Jason?” 

“Sorry, Drew, but I don’t wanna go. Especially if it’ll just be me and not Leo or Pipes.” Leo grinned and shot Jason a thumbs-up from behind Drew’s back, receiving a strained smile in return.

“Fine. I’ll give your lame-ass friends an invite if it means you’ll come.” She looked at Leo and Piper, sizing them up and nodding. “You’re invited. Losers.” There was that insult quota again.

Leo grinned. “Yes!” He pumped a fist and hit his elbow against the locker with a bang. “Ow.”

“But don’t be an idiot about it. Bye Jason!” Drew said, giving a little wave and going into the cafeteria. She stumbled in her chunky shoes as she walked.

Leo pumped a fist dramatically. “Woohoo! Nice one, Jason,” he said, holding his hand out for a high-five and getting a weak one in return.

“We’re not actually gonna go to this thing, Leo,” Piper scoffed. “Are you crazy?”

“Well, it could be fun,” Jason mumbled, a vision of dancing with Piper suddenly materializing in his mind. “More fun than the actual Homecoming dance.” 

“Yeah!” Leo exclaimed. “Piper, there’s gonna be popular people! Hot people! Hot  _ and  _ popular people! We’ve never gone to a high school party before. We should go.” Leo decided.

“No!” Piper threw up her arms. “Drew is a  _ bitch _ . She’s going to- she’s going to-”

“I don’t see the harm in it, Piper,” Jason said, tentatively. 

“Well, I do. Drew is evil. She told everyone I slept with Mr. Talinsky during freshman year.”

“Nobody believed that,” Jason reassured her carefully.

“Oh, shit, that was a rumor?” Leo said at the same time. Piper glared at him. “Never mind, no, I didn’t!” Leo took a deep breath- he was going to die on his hill. “Kay, but how about we just give it a shot, Piper. I mean, you don’t have to go, but it would be so much fun. Drew changed! I think.”

“She literally shoved you out of the way and called you a loser.”

“I digress.” Leo’s standards were lower than the underworld.

Jason sighed. “How about we just give it a try. If it’s lame, or if Drew is a jerk, we’ll go home or go to the Homecoming Dance at the school. Does that sound good?” He was tired of this conversation already.

Piper looked into Jason’s eyes solemnly. She made her decision and nodded. “Okay...Okay. Maybe I was overreacting,” Piper admitted.

“Yes! Now all I gotta do is find a date. Or at least make out with someone at the party,” Leo decided. Jason laughed.

“Yeah. Date.” Leo didn’t miss the way Jason’s eyes flickered over to Piper.

…

Jason went to the usual spot where they would meet up after school. Leo was already there, idly making loops around a stray cone on his skateboard. Leo could never sit still -- his ADHD was off the charts. When he noticed Jason, he waved and stopped his board. “Sup, dude?” 

Jason nodded, unlocking his bicycle and sitting on the bench idly. “Not much. Same old, same old.”

“Well,” Leo said, a hint of mischief in his eyes. Leo had no tact- Jason had long-since memorized the look Leo had before he would do something stupid. “You never told us who you were crushing on.”

“I just didn’t want to say it at that moment,” Jason said honestly. 

“Is now a good moment to tell me?” Leo asked pointedly, adjusting his beanie.

Jason grunted. “Leo, I just don’t wanna say it. There’s a reason I didn’t tell you before.” Leo thought about all the reasons Jason wouldn’t and gasped.

“No way. Is it because-”

“What?” Jason flinched. No way. Leo wasn’t  _ supposed  _ to know. He  _ couldn’t  _ know.

Jason loved Leo. He genuinely did. They had been inseparable freshman year, and every year after that for fuck’s sake. Leo was a lot of things: he was funny, he was handy, he was smart- but Leo Valdez was not good at keeping secrets. “...You like Piper. Holy fucking shit, you like Piper McLean. You like our best friend. You like-”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Shut up now,” Jason said, nudging Leo with his knee. Leo looked at Jason- they were eye-level when Jason was seated because Leo was ridiculously short.

“Oh, man. Okay, but like, when did it start? Have you made any moves?” Leo asked rapid-fire. Jason forgot how big Leo’s mouth was. 

That didn’t bode well with his secret. 

“Shut up, she’s coming,” Jason muttered, nudging Leo again. He was never going to hear the end of this from Leo.

“Hey, Pipey!” Leo did his signature obnoxious wave towards Piper. She raised an eyebrow at the nickname. She looked beautiful that day, despite not having done anything special with herself. Same old Piper, with her adorable barrettes and her tight crop tops and her men’s jeans. “I was just admiring Jason’s legs- they’re very toned from all that, uh,  _ sexy bike-riding _ .”

He bent down, caressing Jason’s denim-clad legs sensually.

Jason was going to  _ kill  _ Leo the next time he had the chance. 

Piper looked amused- excellent. She probably thought Leo was just a dumbass. Not out of character for him. “Nice. Anyway, Leo, can’t you just blow off work and come to movie night?” She whined, slumping on the bench and putting on her electric-blue skates. “It won’t be the same without you.”

Leo gave Jason a “wink” (Leo couldn’t wink, though, so he had to scrunch his face to one side and force the other eye to stay open with his left hand) and shook his head. “Nope! Guess it’ll just be you and Jason. A shame. A damn shame.”

Leo had the subtlety of a rhinoceros. 

“Aw. Well, can you at least ride home with-”

“Oh, look at the time,” Leo said, checking his bare wrist. “There’s di Angelo. He’s gonna give me a ride. Bye!” Leo jumped onto his skateboard and sped up to Nico, whom Leo had noticed in his peripherals.

Piper frowned. “That’s weird. I thought di Angelo, like, hated him.” Piper’s lips tightened, and she looked down. “Is he mad at me for the Drew-thing? Why is he blowing us off?”

“I don’t think he is,” Jason said anxiously. “He has to go to work. Remember?”

“Yeah, but Leo seemed like he didn’t wanna go. Now he’s jumping off at the opportunity to abandon us. I hope he’s okay…” she said, chewing her lip concernedly.

“I’m-” Jason struggled with what to say. Screw Leo for leaving him alone. “I’m sure he’s okay. Let’s just go.”

…

“Hey, Neeks!” Leo sped up to Nico on his skateboard. Nico snapped his head up, looking around for the source of the sound and landing on Leo. He frowned. 

“What do you want?” His voice was crackly from disuse. “Why are you talking to me?” He looked strange without his Blockbuster uniform. He was wearing a Green Day sweatshirt and black jeans, with long chains dangling from his belt loops.   
  


“Because,” Leo said. Nico tried to speed up his walking, but Leo’s skateboard allowed him to catch up. “You agreed to give me a ride to work,” he said firmly.

They weaved through cars together, around sophomores with learning permits and mom’s in their cars. “I didn’t.”   
  


“You did,” Leo insisted, putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder to stop him from walking into a car. Nico’s skin was cold through his sweatshirt.

“Did not,” he retorted, refusing to acknowledge the fact that Leo had saved him from eating shit.

“Did too,” Leo responded, immaturely.

“Did not,” Nico replied, equally immaturely.

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did not.” 

  
“Did too-fuck.”

“Yes!” Leo cheered. Nico sighed, walking to the driver’s side of his car. Nico slid into the seat and locked the vehicle a second too late- Leo had opened the passenger door already. He set his skateboard in the backseat and sat down like he owned the place. “Nice ride.”

“Sure.” Nico was curt. He wasn’t going to argue anymore; he was just going to stop humoring Leo. He fiddled with his belt loops just to have something to do with his hands.

“Got any CDs?” Leo asked, rooting through the passenger compartment and finding a book full of CDs. “Ooh, Nirvana!” He put the CD into the car and hit play. Nico wasn’t going to complain- he liked the album.

They drove together, Nico bopping his head subtly to the beat of the song. “Why do you need a ride? I thought your board was your ride.”

“Well, Jason likes Piper, so I wanted them to be alone because then they might get closer, then that might lead to a relationship, and then they’ll both be happy, and then I’ll have a cool story to tell in my best man speech,” Leo rambled.

“I don’t care,” Nico said firmly. “But okay. Meddle in your friends’ lives. Not my problem...”

“Feisty! Someone’s playing hard to get,” Leo snapped his fingers. “I know you have the hots for me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be giving me a ride. The backseat is pretty big, so I mean, if you wanted to ride something else, the offer is open.”

Nico took in as much oxygen as humanly possible and exhaled. “Leo, you disgust me.”

“Ah, so you’ve  _ discussed  _ me?” Leo was quick to shoot back, coupled with a charming grin. Nico didn’t say anything, instead opting to stare at the road pointedly.

“That was clever, and you knew it.” More silence.

“So...how was your day?” Leo seemed determined not to let the silence die. He tapped his fingers against the car door. 

Nico looked at Leo for a second. “It was alright, I suppose,” Nico said, feeling like he was speaking to his stepmother. He was expecting Leo to say something annoying afterward, but he merely hummed.

“Glad to hear.”

“...I’m sorry, Leo,” Nico suddenly said, slamming on the brakes. “But why do you keep doing this?”

“Keep doing what?”

“Why do you keep actively trying to piss me off? What’s with the flirting? You’re so fucking weird- you just approached me, and now I’m driving you home, and we just had a kinda civil exchange right after you said all that, and it’s just weird, okay?” Nico unleashed all the confusion he had been harboring.

Leo shrugged. They pulled into the Blockbuster. “It’s just funny to me. I like messing with people. I like practicing my pick-up lines on dudes with fragile masculinities to watch them get pissed. Lighten up, man. Haven’t you ever had  _ friends  _ before?”

“No.” He said. Leo was, unfortunately, correct in his statement. Nico’s last friend was his sister, and she died.

Leo gawked. “No?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Never had a friend?”

“No, Leo. God, can you stop trying to make me feel bad about everything I do?” Nico slid out of his car, slamming the door and storming off into the Blockbuster.

Leo frowned. He had pushed too far. But that was what he did. Leo pushed, and he pushed. He felt strange, alone in what was virtually a stranger’s car. Leo took a deep breath and waited a couple of minutes before entering the store.   
  
Throughout Leo’s shift, Nico didn’t spare a glance in his direction. It would remain that way for many more shifts to come.

…

“So,” Piper said. It was strange hanging out with Jason  _ alone _ , without Leo there to banter with and fill in empty gaps of their dynamic. “What should we rent? We’re still going to Blockbuster, right?”

Jason remembered Leo and how much he had fucked up before. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. I have VHS’s at home.”

Piper squinted, spinning in her roller skates idly. “Are you sure everything’s okay with Leo?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” Jason said, keeping calm. “L-let’s just go to my house. Thalia bought more Dunkaroos.”

Piper looked on suspiciously but said nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3
> 
> valdangelo discord server: https://discord.gg/6WQrydE
> 
> my twitter/tumblr: @butt3rflyclips
> 
> leave a comment if you can, I reply to them all!


	5. Can't Hardly Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE U ALL ANYWAY HERE IS CHAPTER 5

...

"Hey, guys," Leo greeted his friends Monday morning. Homeroom class hadn't started yet, so all the students were mingling before the day could begin. "How was movie night?"

"Fine," Piper said curtly, focusing on Leo's mannerisms to gage whether something suspicious was going on. "I wish you were there. Wasn't the same with just me and Jason." Piper sighed, slouching in her chair awkwardly and fingering the flip phone in her pocket.

"Oh, you two had a movie night? How fun!" Drew popped her head into their conversation. She seemed to materialize out of thin air whenever she felt like it.

_Finally, Drew had another personality trait other than complaining._

"Fuck off," Piper shooed off Drew, but she relented and took Leo's seat before he could. Piper, Leo, and Jason collectively sighed. They were starting their Monday morning with a conversation with Drew, whether they wanted to or not.

"Hey!" Leo cried out, trying to force Drew out of his seat. She glared at Leo and shoved him out of the way. He rolled his eyes and plopped himself on Jason's lap instead. Jason didn't even flinch, wrapping his arms around Leo's torso and sighing defeatedly instead. Leo's warmth brought comfort.

Drew raised an eyebrow at their proximity but said nothing. "Oh, sure. How was your 'movie night'? If that's what everyone's calling it now." Drew leaned into Jason desperately, invading his personal bubble tremendously.

"It wasn't like that, Drew." Jason scooted away from her in his chair.

"I should hope not. Not if you still wanna come to the party," Drew said, drawing out the last syllable. "Jason, you're still coming, right?"

"That's the plan," he said stiffly.

"Yeah, all _three_ of us will be attending, Drew," Piper spat. "So butt out now." Piper folded her arms over her midriff.

"Jeez! It's _someone's_ time of the month." Piper opened her mouth to retort but closed it and opted to take a deep breath instead. "Toodles!" Drew waved girlishly, finally removing herself from Leo's seat and going to sit with Dawn.

Piper exhaled. "Okay, we're definitely going to that stupid ass party," Piper smiled, forgetting her suspicions towards Leo at the moment. "It'll piss her off more."

"Fine by me." Leo slumped into his chair and out of Jason's lap, uninterested. As long as he still got to go to the party, he was golden. If Piper needed some weird backhanded justification for attending, so be it.

...

Leo thought about what Nico had said to him last Friday during work that day - thankfully, Mondays were the only day he had a shift without Nico. The guilt was chewing him from the inside-out. Leo tapped a pattern on the counter glumly. Morse code. He wished more than anything to be able to ask his mother for advice. _Help me_ , he tapped out fruitlessly.

Unfortunately, that's not how contacting the dead worked, and Leo was forced to solve his problems by himself. He felt almost like he wanted to make it up to Nico. They didn't have work the following day, so maybe he could think of something to do then. Leo wanted Nico to give him another chance, another chance to relent his hatred of Leo.

 _Why do I care so much_? A question reverberated throughout his head, echoing off the walls and overpowering other passing thoughts.

Leo couldn't answer that question directly, but he could imagine Nico in his mind's eye, skulking off alone and moving through the shadows with the slumpy posture and quick pace of someone who didn't have anyone else to wait for. There was a glint in his eyes, a shine of sadness Leo could pinpoint with ease. He made his decision swiftly.

A plan formed in Leo's head. He smiled, tapping rapidly on the countertop and swiveling in his chair. He wasn't going to be the asshole, not this time. He wasn't just going to run off from his problems; he was going to fucking fix them.

"Excuse me, Tabitha?" A customer.

Leo had gotten used to the fact that his nametag read 'Tabitha.' It was a blessing in disguise- whenever someone reported him to his boss, they would claim 'Tabitha' had done something wrong, not Leo. "Sorry, I'll be right with!" Leo sprang to action, scanning things up, and giving his routine candy sales pitch, thoughts lingering on his plan.

…

Leo clicked his tongue. _Okay, step one, find Nico di Angelo_ …

Leo scanned the parking lot. Nico drove a bog-standard 1992 Toyota Corolla (Leo's brain could keep track of irrelevant details like that). When Nico had given him a ride last Friday, his car was parked in the back, so Leo assumed his parking patterns would be similar. Nico seemed like a routine-y person.

Leo found Nico's car soon, parked casually under a tree. The vehicle itself had nothing fancy going on inside of it, just his Blockbuster uniform in the backseat and an old McDonald's cup in the front. Leo sat on the curb, trying not to look creepy (but probably failing). He didn't have anything to make himself look busy, so he opted to observe his surroundings.

He watched a squirrel clamber up a tree, twiddling his thumbs and bouncing his leg.. Seconds were excruciatingly long- that's ADHD for you. Leo passed the time in any way he could, tapping in morse code and peeling off black nail polish Piper had painted on last week and staring at the passenger door of Nico's car.

After five minutes of painful waiting, Leo saw Nico approach his car (and by extension, Leo).

"Hey, Nico, I wanted to talk to you." Leo kept his voice small. It was his real voice, timid and unguarded and rough. No false confidence or exclamations. Just Leo. Nico noticed his voice inflection change.

"Look, I know you're mad at me, and I know I was a dick. I just don't want it to be that way, man." Nico looked up at Leo. His dark eyes bored into Leo's.

"Okay, if we're gonna work in the same place, I don't want you to hate me. So I'm gonna extend an olive branch or whatever. Do you wanna hang out with me? I know you're not on shift today, so…" Leo's voice trailed off as he awaited Nico's response. Nico's eyes were intimidating in the light, looking pitch black and sharp-looking.

Nico was silent for a second, lips tightening and hands twitching. After a moment, he slowly nodded. "Sure." It looked like the word took some effort to speak. Leo grinned at him slightly forcefully.

"Cool!" His voice was back to his usual boisterousness, something Nico didn't miss. "Can I drive? I have a license," he added, seeing Nico's face contort into concern. Nico tossed his keys over to Leo, who caught them swiftly. He settled into the driver's seat.

"Jeez, you have the seat all the way back here," Leo commented, adjusting the seat to be closer to the wheel.

Nico smirked. "Yeah, because I'm not short."

"Low blow." Leo clicked his tongue. "I didn't want to be born five-foot-six."

Leo was actually pretty good at driving for someone who couldn't afford a car. He pulled out perfectly and followed all basic traffic laws. He even drove better than Nico, who had a speeding problem.

"...Where are we going?" Nico asked, running a hand through his hair. It was too shaggy in the back, making it stick up like little baby bat wings. It was kind of endearing, Leo found himself thinking.

"We're going to get an early dinner, then go to the mall as normal kids would after school," Leo answered, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. His eyes sparkled. He loved cars. A shame Nico probably wouldn't let him work under the hood of this one.

Driving was fun as well and came naturally to him; he could read every component faster than he could read a book. However, a Goodwill skateboard was cheaper than a car, so Leo made do. Still, he wished he could drive more often. It was relaxing to him, coasting along the road.

When he got into a relationship, he'd go on road trips all the time. Leo found himself daydreaming about having someone else in the passenger seat, someone he could fight over the radio with or protect with his arm when they made a particularly sharp turn.

"So you're apologizing to me by using up all my gas," Nico finally replied after a beat, staring out the window. "Fun."

Unfortunately, Leo was stuck with a grumpy coworker, not a smoking hot significant other. Leo was sure that if he tried to protect _Nico_ during a sharp turn, Nico would throw himself out the window out of pure spite.

"I was gonna fill it up on the way home, anyway." Nico's sarcasm didn't phase Leo. It proved Nico sort of had a sense of humor, anyway, and that was comforting.

They drove in silence for a while, Leo getting lost in the act of driving. He considered controlling the radio, but it would likely just lead to a fight (and not like the romanticized play-fighting in his daydreams). The rumble of the road kept him entertained well enough.

Surprisingly, Nico was the one to break the silence. "Can we stop off at Burger King? 'M hungry," he mumbled his words like he was afraid of being judged for eating.

"Oh shit, same." He hummed to the song the radio played. "Hey, what language did you take? French or Spanish?"

"...I'm in AP German," he answered, not knowing where Leo was going with that. Leo liked to bounce from topic-to-topic faster than Nico could keep up.

Leo whistled. "Wow. I'm in French 2, and it's kicking my ass. Ergo, why I got a thirteen on the last test." He chuckled like he was proud of himself for it. "I'm fluent in Spanish, but I wanted to try something new. Stupid."

Nico laughed - he actually laughed at Leo's joke! Leo's felt the corners of his mouth go up, his grin so hard it made his cheeks hurt. Nico's laugh was the night-time wind and high tide and clicking pens. It was so unexpected, but something about it made Leo wish it could last forever.

Leo liked making Nico laugh. The sound felt foreign coming out of Nico's mouth, almost _inexperienced_ , like Nico never laughed enough to practice it. "Thirteen? Jesus Christ," Nico said. His laughter died, but there was still a little smile on his face, a ghost of his previous amusement.

"Hey, it's not my fault. It's Mr. Smith's fault. He's jealous of me for having an interesting last name." Nico laughed again, in that same tentatively, breathy way.

The air around them cleared up a little bit, and the ride to Burger King was a little bit more tolerable than it had been before.

…

"Here's your food, guys." A cinnamon-haired employee set down their tray. He and Nico had decided to split the cost of the food. Not like it was a lot, being a mere burger joint and not a candlelit dinner.

"Thanks...Calypso." Leo read off from her badge stiltedly.

"It's Callie. Enjoy your food!" She beamed and walked away from the pair.

Nico wordlessly bit into his burger, Leo following suit. Nico took small, bird-like bites. Poised and careful and too on-edge, even when eating. "So...enjoying your Burger King?" Leo didn't know what to say. It was easy to keep up a conversation with Jason and Piper, but that was because he knew them inside-out. Leo wasn't great with people.

His information on People was formulaic: he'd make a joke, which would make them laugh, which would make them friendly towards him: cause and effect. When the result didn't match his formula, Leo would abandon the mess he made. He'd pack up and run, metaphorically or physically.

"Yeah." Nico's simple response grounded Leo back to reality.

"Why did you get a kid's meal, anyway?" Leo asked, eyeing his small portions. Nico's eyes flickered away, the tips of his ears turning noticeably pink, a tulip among a forest of black curls.

He was quick to defend himself. "No reason." Leo thought for a minute and grinned.

"You wanted the sick Burger King toy, right?" Nico glared at Leo, who snagged Nico's bag and pulled out the toy. Leo ripped open the plastic hastily.

"Hey!" Nico blurted, making a grab to snatch it back. Leo held it up in the air, but Nico's six-foot self was able to grab it back with ease. "That's mine."

"Sorry, jeez. I didn't think you would care about the Pokemon toy," Leo scoffed, taking a sip of his milkshake. Nico's blush had spread to his cheeks, a beautifully bloomed field of tulips.

"I don't. It's just a stupid Cubone, anyway," Nico said, but he still put the keychain on his lanyard. "Motherfucker only has a base 90 attack stat." Leo snickered.

"It's okay to like Pokemon," Leo said.

"I don't like Pokemon," Nico insisted, hiding his rosy face with a napkin.

"Oh yeah? Then how come you could identify that it was a Cubone? That's a pretty unpopular one," Leo pointed out. "And I don't think non-Pokemon fans can tell you the base attack stat of an unpopular Pokemon, Nico." He gave Nico a Look, like ' _c'mon, man.'_

Nico sighed defeatedly. "Okay, fine. But don't tell anyone, or I'll tell Sarah you keep eating candy on the job." Leo gasped.

"You knew?"

Nico smirked, biting into his cheeseburger. "Yeah. You suck at being secretive."

"Oh, whatever, Pokemon boy," Leo waved off. "And for your information, Pokemon is badass as fuck. As I said, it's okay to like it."

To prove his point, Leo rooted around in his pockets and produced a battered blue Gameboy pocket. He ejected his copy of Pokemon Red and waved it in Nico's face for emphasis. "See? Even bad boys like me play Pokemon."

Nico snorted, but he smiled upon seeing Leo's Gameboy. "Bad boy," he parroted. "Sure." Reluctantly, Nico took out his own clear purple Gameboy Color. Leo whistled.

"Fancy! I found mine on the bus at the end of my freshman year," Leo admitted. "I had to buy the game myself. But I haven't beat it yet."

"Seriously," Nico said. "You need to!"

Leo put up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, but I'm too lazy to train up my team. I keep on dying to my rival's overpowered team."

Nico nodded sympathetically. "His Pokemon are on _steroids_."

"What? Unfair." Leo shook his head. "I guess I could evolve Kadabra, but I don't know how. I trained it up, but it won't evolve."

"You need to trade it, dumbass!" Leo almost found it funny that Nico was schooling him in Pokemon. He wasn't nearly as passionate when he was training Leo up for a Blockbuster position. "Do you have a link cable?"

"No, but we can get one… Are you done eating?" Nico nodded. "Then let's head to the mall!"

…

"Do you think the rumors about Pokemon 2 are true?" Nico asked as Leo admired the different colors of Gameboys that were on display. Leo hummed.

"Probably. I mean, there was that rainbow bird in the first episode of the anime," Leo mused. Nico nodded, picking up a link cable. He looked much smaller when he was surrounded with Pokemon merchandise, a grin on his face as he looked at the different Pokemon-related items.

It was almost comedic. Nico looked scary most of the time, with that shaggy black hair and those intense eyes. But he was also just a teenager, just like Leo. It was easy to forget that.

"Oh, yeah. There are so many theories on it. There's this thing called 'Pikablu' that might be in the new games. It's hella cute. And some others look fake and some that are super convincing."

"That's sick. I can't wait until the release of the game," Leo said. "Let's check-out, then we can trade our Pokemon, and after that, we can go to Toys 'R Us and maybe buy something."

Nico watched Leo's face contort into a small, genuine smile. It was soft and subtle and so unlike the nervous grins that he would give after delivering a punchline. Leo looked so vulnerable, so happy. Nico liked seeing Leo happy.

...

They headed into the Toys 'R Us after trading their 'Mons. Stares followed them as they walked into the toy store together. People did a double-take when they saw Nico's six-foot, emo-looking ass walking into a toy store with Leo's short, energetic self.

Pokemon was front and center. Since Pokemon was a worldwide phenomenon, stores were trying to make as much money off of it as they could before the craze died down. "What's your favorite Pokemon?" Leo asked, running his hand through the fluff of a Pikachu plush. "Mine's Charmander."

"Well, I really like Dratini, but Sandshrew and Gengar are also so cool. But then, Nidoking is way stronger than the others, so -" Nico stopped himself mid-sentence.

"Sorry, I know I'm talking too much about stupid things." Nico had never had anyone to share his Pokemon experience with, so he was dumping information on Leo and was likely annoying him in the process.

Leo shook his head. "Don't be afraid to talk about things you like. I like you more when you aren't brooding."

"I don't brood," Nico grumbled, his expression looking suspiciously brood-y.

"You do. A lot," Leo teased.

"Well, I like you more when you aren't hiding behind dumb jokes and fake laughs, Leo." Leo's jaw dropped. You could see his soul physically leave his body.

Nico was _observant._

"Whoa." Leo's breath caught. "You didn't have to come for my _entire existence_ , Neeks."

He laughed. "Someone had to do it." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think my favorite is actually Clefairy." Leo clicked his tongue.

"I would have thought it would've been something spooky. Like you," Leo added, picking up a Charmander plush and choosing to buy it.

"Oh, whatever," Nico said. "At least I didn't name my Kadabra 'Pigpen'. What kind of a name is _that_?" He held up a Clefairy plush and smiled at the details.

"Hey, I didn't name my Machoke 'Ares,' like a nerd," Leo shot back playfully.

"It's an iconic name," Nico protested Leo tossed a Squirtle plush at Nico. Nico glared back, throwing a Bulbasaur at Leo.

"Oh," Leo laughed. "It's on now." He launched an Abra at Nico, beaning the side of his head. Soon, they dissolved into laughter, lobbing plush after plush at each other.

"Give it up, Leo!" Nico said, tossing two Magikarps with one hand. "Oof," he said, doubling over when Leo threw a Geodude into his stomach. He tossed back another plushie. Leo stepped forward, slipping on an Ekans.

"Shit," he laughed, pulling on Nico's ankle and knocking Nico on his ass.

Laughter rang out, Nico's breathy chuckles mixing with Leo's boisterous guffaws. "Excuse me, sirs," an employee said, clearing his throat. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Nico got to his feet immediately, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry," he said, but he was still grinning. Leo stood up, pulling Nico out of the store by the forearm.

Leo stared at Nico, looking at his right dimple. Nico looked up, noticing Leo's stare. "Let's go home now?"

"Yeah, home," Leo said, short of breath.

…

"Well, that was a fruitful trip," Leo laughed as they finished being escorted out of the mall.

"I'll say. Too bad we couldn't buy anything," Nico said, fiddling with the belt loops on his jeans.

"Who said we had to buy anything?" Leo pulled a Clefairy and a Charmander plush out of his pockets with a toothy grin.

Nico's jaw dropped. "Oh my god...Thanks," he said shortly, grabbing the Clefairy and smiling.

"No problem. So," Leo began as they entered Nico's car. "Still hate me?"

Nico shook his hand. "Ehhh, it's fifty-fifty?"

"I'll take it!"

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i PROMISE this is the last of the Short Chapters... every chapter after this will be at least 4k ish i promise but things ar at first!
> 
> thank you guys so fucking much for the support. seriously. fridays are ALSO the highlights of my weeks just because i love replying to comments, online school sucks ass but these r the best parts of my week. even if you've just CLICKED on this, thank you, it really means so much :)
> 
> my tumblr: butt3rflyclips
> 
> join the valdangelo discord server, it's a lot of fun, we talk about valdangelo and hating rick riordan!: https://discord.gg/dwp5hpr


	6. Pump Up The Volume

...

Weeks went by, and then it was suddenly mid-October, marking Leo's second week of working at Blockbuster _and_ his first paycheck. Mentally, Leo was still in September, so the check was a pleasant surprise.

Two more weeks and Leo could _technically_ quit, but once the first paycheck came in, Leo warmed up to the idea of working. He could use a new skateboard deck.

He walked into the store, proud smile on his face, right before his Saturday morning shift. "Hey, Nico," Leo greeted. Nico looked up and frowned.

"Hey."

He and Nico were still in that awkward stage of purgatory, that weird time period when you've hung out with someone once or twice but haven't quite spent enough time together to become true friends. In the three weeks since Nico and Leo had hung at the mall, they really didn't share too many more moments. Sure, there was that day where they ran into each other on the way to the school bathrooms, and maybe Leo would crack jokes during their shifts and Nico would chuckle, but it wasn't _substantial_.

Leo was fine, as long as he didn't have to deal with the guilt of having Nico hate him. Truthfully, Nico still creeped him out a little bit, regardless of his closet Pokemon obsession.

Currently though, Nico was rooting through a box that read ' _Spirit Halloween_.' "Mind helping me? Sarah said we need to decorate the store or whatever."

Leo set his skateboard behind the counter, pinned his badge to his polo, and joined Nico. He was furiously untangling some string lights. "I was going to hang this from the counter...what else should we do?"

Leo hummed, rummaging through the box. He pulled out some skulls, a few fake cobwebs, a skeleton, and a few plastic jack-o-lanterns.

They went to work, Halloween-ifying the store. Nico strung up the lights and made a display for Halloween movies, and Leo scattered the rest of the decorations across the store. "Think this is convincing?" Leo asked after propping the skeleton onto his chair, shoving a Blockbuster polo over its head, and pinning his nametag to it.

"I mean, it's probably just as smart as _you_ are," Nico quipped, sitting on the counter and swinging his legs. Sarah would have a fit if she saw him.

Leo laughed. "Oh, fine. He can greet the guests, then." Leo took back his nametag and balanced the skeleton on a stool by the door.

...

Even if Nico and Leo were decidedly not friends, they went to Burger King together during lunch. Nico claimed it was to grow his collection, and Leo said he thought the waitress was cute.

Speaking of which.

"Hello!" Callie smiled, caramel eyes shining. She was one of those people who smiled with their entire face.

"Two kids meals, please."

Callie peered at Nico and Leo and slowly nodded. "Two...kids meals?"

"You know it," he finger gunned. Nico grabbed a cup and filled it up with a Coke Zero. Leo followed suit shortly after, filling his own cup up with a little of every flavor like an absolute degenerate.

"You know, Nico," Leo said, nudging him with his elbow. "I just wonder…"

"You just wonder what?" Nico deadpanned, clicking a lid onto his cup and sticking a straw in.

"What if I just, like, asked her out," Leo voiced, nodding over at Callie. "She's pretty, I kinda know her, and I need a date." Nico rolled his eyes. Leo wasn't exactly listing solid reasons for asking someone out.

Nico gave his opinion regardless. "Sure, do it. It's not like I care that much either way," he said honestly, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Leo's eyes gleamed. "Cool. Great. So I guess I'm doing it!" Leo exclaimed.

He stayed stationary despite his claim.

"Are you going to do it, or are you going to just stand there?" Nico raised an eyebrow. Leo flinched.

"Right! Right. Right…" he mumbled. "Okay, I'm gonna do it." He swaggered up to the counter. Nico snickered. This was gonna be good. He kinda wished he had warned Leo that his fly was down beforehand, though.

"So, Callie," Leo said, leaning over the counter. "I always wondered- how come you're not at school? I mean, you're like, sixteen too. Right?"

Callie's smile got wider as if that were even possible. "I dropped out," she giggled. "Too stuffy for me. Felt like I was trapped."

"Man, I wish I could do that. But like, I have to get an education. And I have friends and stuff." Leo leaned over the counter, hands twitching anxiously.

"I never really had much of that," Callie admitted, looking down. "Didn't go to a lot of the common High School events, you know? No football games, no homecoming…" Nico watched curiously, sitting in their usual booth.

Leo surprisingly picked up on the hint. "Oh! Well… Wanna go to a friend's Homecoming party with me?" He was not smooth with his delivery, Nico noted. He spoke his words much too fast and stumbled over the word 'Homecoming'.

"Sure! Wow!" Leo looked _ecstatic_. "I'll, um, call you? We can go on a date, test the waters before committing?" She scribbled her digits on a napkin, placed it onto his tray along with his food, and practically shoved the tray into his arms with a blush.

"Sounds _awesome_."

Nico high-fived Leo as he ran back to the table. "That was spontaneous. You barely even know her," Nico said, diving his hand into his Burger King meal immediately and fishing out the toy.

"I mean, yeah," Leo replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But who _cares?_ I have a date, maybe even a girlfriend! Wow."

Nico snorted into his napkin. "Have fun at your little Homecoming party."

"Oh, no," Leo shook his head dramatically.

"...What? I'm not following," Nico said, slurping from his Coke Zero. "Elaborate."

"I'm not gonna let you brood at home alone. You're going to come with us to the party." He leaned over and set a hand on Nico's shoulder. "I don't care if you think you're too cool. You're coming with us."

Nico frowned. "Fine. But it's going to be boring third-wheeling it," Nico complained, opening up his toy. Leo grinned, seemingly pleased, and retracted his hand.

Callie watched them. She smiled, but her eyes didn't match her expression.

…

"Think we'll get caught skipping?" Nico asked, pulling back into the student parking lot.

Leo shook his head. "Take a chill pill! Once, me and Piper just walked out of class and nobody did anything." Nico nodded. "We'll be fine."

"Good," Nico said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Not like it would be a big deal if we get caught."

"It's not," Nico acknowledged. They took the back entrance, as it would be a little obvious if they just strutted in through the front doors. "I just would rather not draw extra attention."

"Makes sense." The tips of their fingers brushed as they walked. Leo's hand twitched. A part of him just wanted to grab onto Nico's hand.

Leo enjoyed physical contact, and especially being affectionate with his friends. He'd snuggle up to Jason randomly, lean his head on Piper's lap, use hugs to greet people, and just generally show his love physically. It was just how he showed his love. He was touch-starved for a lot of his life and craved the attention he got.

However, Leo also understood the importance of boundaries, and he knew Nico had a lot of them. He wasn't a fan of being touched.

But maybe, Leo could test the waters a bit. After all, they were sort-of friends now. He reached his hand out, intertwining it with Nico's as they walked. Nico looked up, startled by the action. He resembled a deer in headlights. He even cocked his head a little bit and raised an eyebrow.

"Is this okay?" Leo asked, squeezing Nico's cold hand in a way he hoped was reassuring. Nico returned his squeeze.

"Sure," he mumbled, looking away quickly.

...

Jason and Piper ate lunch together.

Alone.

For the _second_ time that week.

Piper groaned, slamming her head into the wall. "Ow! I wanted to do that to be dramatic, but that kinda hurt."

Jason raised an eyebrow and bit into his Uncrustable. "Why?"

"Where is Leo?" Piper asked. "I swear, he's still avoiding us sometimes and I just-ugh!"

Jason closed his eyes and exhaled. Leo was _still_ taking any opportunity he could to leave them alone together, but it had backfired tremendously- Piper seemed to think Leo was upset with them. "I mean, why would he just bail on us so much, Jason? Is there something going on?"

"Probably not," Jason mused. "Look, I'm sure there's a reason that he's, uh, _avoiding_ us."

Speak of the devil, Leo walked into the side entrance of the school, shit-eating grin splitting his face. Nico was behind him, towering above his coworker as always. They were connected with intertwined hands- something Piper rose an eyebrow at.

"Guys!" Leo released Nico's hand, sprinted down the hallway, tackled Jason, and began to aggressively shake him. "I got a _girlfriend_!" Nico slurped from his soft drink.

"T-that's-" Jason struggled to speak, glasses bouncing off his face. "That's great, Leo. Can you get off now?"

"Hehe, sorry." Leo untangled himself from Jason's limbs. "But there was this girl at Burger King, and she was makin' hints, and I just said fuck it and asked her out."

"Uhh...you met her at the Burger King? Do you even know her?" Piper asked, cocking her head like a puppy would.

Leo fumed, slumping to the ground and nudging Piper's thigh. "I swear, it was more romantic. Back me up, Neeks…?"

Nico stood a couple of feet away from the trio, not wanting to impose. "Not really? You asked out some girl in the middle of Burger King." He sipped his Coke Zero again and directed his eyes to the left.

"Okay, but more importantly," Leo hissed. "I gotta girlfriend!"

"What's her name?" Jason asked, crossing his arms patiently.

"Callie," he whispered, the word folding like poetry on his lips. "She's great."

"So not judging you, Leo," Piper said, throwing up her hands. "But do you really like her or do you just want a girlfriend?"

"Whatever, Piper. I don't see you dating anyone." He looked at Jason for a second before turning his eyes back to Piper. "And who cares if we barely know each other or if we haven't met much before now or if the most knowledge she has about me is that I order a Burger King kid's meal? I have a girlfriend."

Jason and Piper shared a worried look. "Weeellll," Jason said. "I'm, uh, glad to hear that?"

Nico walked away once they stopped noticing his presence. He didn't want to make things awkward by sticking around longer than he needed to.

...

Leo skated down the street, Piper and Jason tagging along behind him. He ollied over a large rock perfectly, landing clean on his board. Piper tucked her hands into the pockets of her overalls, gliding down the street in her skates. "So...two weeks."

"Two weeks," Jason repeated.

"Two weeks," Leo parroted.

"Shut up, I was trying to be dramatic," Piper said, huffing and clenching a fist. "Two weeks until we have the _night of our lives_ , as all the stupid-ass coming of age movies like to put it."

Leo grinned. "It's going to be worth Drew's manhandling, I'm telling y'all! We're going to a real-deal high school party. I wonder if it'll be like _Ten Things I Hate About You._ I hope so."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your time with Callie. Have you guys talked since you asked her out?" Piper asked.

"Only a little on the phone," Leo scoffed. "Do I look like I have _unlimited phone minutes_ tattooed on my forehead?"

"Maybe I could tell if you got a haircut," Piper retorted. "You keep hiding it under that hat. So not flattering." She carefully moved her feet to continue momentum on her skates.

"Okay, so, what are you going to wear to the party?" Jason chimed in to prevent a rising argument. He was the peacekeeper between Piper and Leo- they were best friends, but they were both incredibly stubborn. "It's a costume party. But I don't know what to go as."

"I dunno either," Leo admitted, kneeling on his skateboard and pushing off the ground with his hands. "Maybe something _sexy_."

"Speaking of sexy, I'm going to personally beat the shit out of _anyone_ going as sexy Pocahontas," Piper proclaimed boldly, spinning in her skates for effect and stumbling on a pebble. "Cultural appropriation is bad."

"I mean, where are we gonna get costumes?" Jason asked, ignoring Piper's statement because building on it would incite a rant. "I spent my last bit of money on snacks," Jason admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Piper sighed. "Wanna raid my house?"

"Of course!" Leo said. "Your dad is like, so cool."

"No, he's not."

"Propaganda."

"If he was your dad, you wouldn't say that," Piper said glumly. "I know you love movies and all, but trust me, he's not his characters."

Leo frowned. "Yeah… Well, let's brainstorm costume ideas. Jason, you should go as sexy Superman!"

"I'm good," he said gruffly.

"Oh, come on," Leo said. "You fit the bill: your three personality traits are being handsome, being nice, and liking golf. Sometimes we can add 'wearing glasses', but that's on a good day."

"Not true." Jason rolled his eyes and folded his arms - his balance faltered since he was on a bike, and he quickly put his hands back on his handlebars. "I like golf an ordinary amount."

"Piper," Leo prompted, noting her silence. "Do you think Jason should be sexy Superman?"

"Oh, I don't know. Let's just get to my house already. It's a long ride," she said, airily.

And a little bit too quickly, Leo noted. Like the thought of _sexy_ and _Jason_ was something that made her flustered.

Leo grinned.

…

"Oh my god…" Leo said softly, staring up at Piper's mansion. "I always forget how...how amazing your house is…"

"It's-" Piper blushed. "It's nothing special. It's much too big."

"That's what she said," Jason mumbled.

"Pipes, you live in a motherfucking mansion! Y'all, my entire apartment complex is smaller than this, what the hell," Leo said, throwing his arms up. Piper ignored Leo (a common occurrence) and went up to the gate.

She entered a special passcode and the gate opened. Leo and Jason followed her as Piper navigated them towards the front door. "Wait for me to open the garage." Piper slipped off her roller skates and opened the door with a key.

Jason began to whistle to the tune of _Barbie Girl_. "So...how do I do it?"

"Do what?" Leo snapped his head out- he had gotten distracted watching a squirrel climb a tree.

"Ask her out. I still. I still have not done that."

"Pussy." Leo coughed violently to cover up his words. Jason clicked his tongue.

"You ask one girl out and you're suddenly a romance expert? That's rich." Jason leaned against the brick exterior, hitting his palms to his knees methodically.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Well, you won't get anywhere if you don't even try to make a move. You like her, right?" Jason nodded. "Act like it then! Ask. Piper. Out."

"But what if she says no?" Jason ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Piper is Cool. She roller-skates, she crops her own shirts, she's a vegetarian, her dad is some big-shot A-lister, and like- I'm me!"

"What's wrong with that, Jace?" Leo asked, actually seeking a serious answer.

"You said it yourself," Jason murmured bitterly. "I can't stack up to Piper. I like to golf, I dress as everyone else does, and apparently being 'handsome' is one of my only personality traits?" Jason sighed glumly.

"Hey! Hey, I didn't mean it- I didn't mean it in like, a bad way," Leo quickly said, placing a hand on Jason's shoulder and smiling. "We like you for who you are, Jason." His lips tightened.

"Look, I'm not good at comforting people," Leo admitted, removing his hand and clamping it around his wrist. "You know that more than anyone else. But you can't keep bringing yourself down. Jason, you're a great leader. You keep the peace between us. You know exactly what to say when something goes wrong. You were there for me- and Piper- when nobody else was."

"You're confident. You're cool in that you know how to keep your head level. And, yeah," Leo said, a smile on his face- the same smile Jason knew meant a joke was coming. "You're a little sexy."

Jason laughed. "You just had to ruin the moment we had going on."

"Oh, I didn't want things to get too weird." Leo's face shifted. "Well, I do have one more serious thing to say."

Jason nodded slowly. "Go ahead." Jason's eyes flicked back to the garage door. Piper was still inside.

Leo took a deep breath. "You know that guy I had a crush on freshman year? The unnamed one? The one that was making me question everything about myself?"

Jason didn't understand why that was relevant. "Vaguely."

"That was you, man. I'm over it now," he said defensively. "But like, you were my first guy crush. So, yeah. Don't undermine yourself."

"Wow. Well." Jason didn't know what to say. "Cool."

Leo burst out laughing. "My sexual awakening is _cool_. Nice to know."

"Hey, guys!" The garage door screeched open, interrupting their heart-to-heart. Piper smiled up at them, waving her arms. "Put your shit in here!" Jason and Leo exchanged a look and nodded.

They entered Piper's garage. It was pristine, with untouched, high-quality tools just sitting on shelves, collecting dust. A top-of-the-line sports car was parked. Piper walked around it like it was nothing but a nuisance. Leo would have killed to have a garage like that. He would spend hours working and tinkering if he could. Leo whistled, almost feeling bad as he parked his skateboard in the corner of the garage.

"Take off your shoes before you enter," Piper said, opening the door to her mansion and walking in. The interior of the house was just as spectacular as the garage, with an expansive foyer and expensive-looking furniture.

"Hey," Jason said, nudging Leo to get his attention. "I thought all the flirting you did was just a joke or something," Jason muttered to Leo as they walked inside.

"I think that I was subconsciously doing that to cope with my sexuality or something. Like, I hoped you'd take it seriously and magically want to date me. I don't know, it was stupid and I started doing it before I even knew I liked you," Leo replied, his voice rough.

"What are you two whispering about?" Piper asked, turning and walking backward so she'd face them.

"Jason wanted to know if his letterman brought out his eyes," Leo answered. Piper shook her head, examining the signature navy-blue and gray letterman and then comparing it to Jason's own eye color. Their eyes collided, and Leo felt uncomfortable just _existing_ while that was happening.

"I think it does," she winked, turning back to the front.

Leo grinned up at Jason feverishly. "You better ask her," he whispered. Jason blushed.

Maids meandered around the house, greeting Piper when they saw her. "Wow. You have _servants_?" One of the maids gave Leo the stink eye. Piper rolled her eyes.

"God, you make me out to be some sort of a spoiled brat. They're paid maids," Piper explained, leading them to her attic. "I still do chores around the house. I clean my own room sometimes. But anyway, here we are." Piper did sarcastic jazz hands.

"What's so cool about where we are?" Leo was out of breath from all the walking they had to do.

"This is my dad's costume vault. Full of all the costumes and shit he wore. He has stuff from every show, movie, and play he acted in," Piper said dramatically, opening the door in front of them and revealing a staircase. "I'm sure he won't mind if we raid it," Piper giggled, racing up the stairs.

"Aren't these valuable or something? I dunno…" Jason stammered, but he followed Piper regardless. Leo sneezed, the staircase dusty and rarely used.

"Oh, whatever. There's so much shit in here. Some of it isn't even from shows he was in. There's also suits and outfits he wore to award shows," Piper explained, flicking the lights on.

"This place is cool!" Leo gushed.

The storage room was messy compared to the rest of the house, with disorganized clothing racks and random articles of clothing on the floor. "I'm thinking I'm gonna go as… an angel," Leo decided, plucking up a white tunic-like thing. He recognized it from Tristan McLean's role as a Greek God in that one movie from the late 80s.

Leo wasn't too familiar with Piper's dad's work, though. Piper had forbidden them from renting or watching _anything_ with her dad in it. Leo didn't blame her- it must have been hard to see her dad on posters and movie covers more than she did in real life.

"I'll just be a nondescript, non- _sexy_ -" Leo closed his mouth. "-dude in a cloak. If someone asks 'are you so-and-so?' I'll just go along with it," Jason decided, finding an indigo cloak and slipping it over his jacket. He looked lumpy with all the layered clothing.

Piper giggled. "Then _I'll_ go as a devil to match Leo." She sifted through a pile of clothes to find articles that would match her costume.

"Hey, do y'all like my rack?" Leo asked, holding an empty clothing rack up to his chest suggestively. Piper snickered.

"Gross!" Leo smiled.

"I'm a great angel," Leo proclaimed, picking up a set of bird wings from a skit Tristan McLean starred in. "Why does your dad keep all this shit, anyway? Do they just let him keep it all?"

Piper grunted. "I think he buys it off of them. He makes so much money he can just do that. As for why? I dunno, sentimental value?"

"That's kind of a cool little fact," Jason commented, holding up two turtlenecks and mentally deciding which one to pick.

"Not really. He hoards this shit while others struggle to keep clothes on their back." Jason and Leo silently agreed not to pry- they knew how the topic of her dad made Piper on edge.

They kept building their costumes, asking each other for advice, and making a mess of the vault. Eventually, they had finished their costumes. Leo even had extra time to pick out a cute little bat costume for Nico. It would match his hair, which always reminded Leo of small bat wings, what with how messy it always was.

"Think our dates will be satisfied with these?" Leo asked as they filed out of the costume vault. Since they were carrying a bunch of stuff, Piper hesitantly agreed to let Leo drive them in her dad's Corvette.

Piper snapped her head up. "Dates? Jason, you have a date?" She was very quick to pick up on Leo's pluralized nouns.

"No," Jason said through gritted teeth, glaring at Leo. "I don't. Do you?"

"Nah," Piper said, relaxing her shoulders. "I don't."

"I have to go to the bathroom!" Leo shouted suddenly.

Jason and Piper stared at Leo strangely. "Yes. I need to go to the bathroom. I will now be using the bathroom. Y'all can go to the car. Go. Walk to the car. Alone." Leo dashed off, barging into a random room (a guest bedroom, Piper noted) and leaving.

"Ooookay. Let's go to the car, I guess." Piper said to Jason, who nodded.

Jason silently cursed Leo under his breath, which was starting to become a regular habit. "Are you planning on asking anybody out?" Jason implored.

Piper shook her head after a beat. "No. I think if I got asked out, I'd say yes, but I'm not too confident in the whole asking department," she admitted.

"Oh." _Now is the chance, Jason_ , a little voice in the back of his head nagged. It sounded suspiciously like Leo. _Ask her out. Idiot._

"Do you wanna…" Jason began. Piper's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Do you wanna meet up at my house before the party?"

Piper softened, seemingly disappointed. "Sure. Yeah."

"Cool."

"Cool."

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 6, done! I kind of. do not like parts of this one? I may rewrite it lol but probably not soon.
> 
> you know that feeling where you write something and you love it and then you doubt yourself and you hate it? I'm going through that rn :P
> 
> leave a comment, i respond to most, if not all!
> 
> follow me on tumblr! butt3rflyclips
> 
> join the valdangelo discord server: https://discord.gg/6WQrydE


	7. The Faculty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: intrusive thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: intrusive thoughts
> 
> thank you all for the support! 15 bookmarks is the MOST bookmarks I've ever gotten, and it just makes me so happy that 15 people liked Blockbuster enough to desire revisiting it.

...

"And he didn't even ask her out!" Leo yelled. "Can you believe it?" Leo leaned back in the passenger seat, slumping over dramatically.

Nico smiled. "I guess he lacks your courage," Nico mocked.

"Yeah, if he doesn't ask her out, I'm gonna make fun of him until the day he dies," Leo decided.

"You're a real comedy genius," Nico drawled.

"Totally."

The car was silent for a moment, that awkward bit of quietness that came after laughter. "...Okay, about this party of yours," Nico said testily after a beat. "Where exactly is the party and when should I drive us?"

"The party? Oh yeah, the party." Leo snapped his fingers. "It's this Saturday. Starts at 8 P.M. We're gonna meet up at Jason's house to prepare. Then you can drive us, or we'll carpool with Piper, or whatever."

"...Where is his house?" Nico asked, after hearing no elaboration from Leo.

"Oh yeah." Leo scribbled down the address on a spare McDonald's napkin. "There ya go. Be there or be square."

"That was so lame," Nico laughed. "What are we gonna do, just prepare for the party?" Nico was still unsure of whether he was even going to go.

Leo frowned, suddenly feeling kind of insecure. He shrugged. "You got it. Well, I was gonna give Jason a surprise makeover," Leo said, drumming chewed nails against the center console. "Wanna help?"

Nico bit his lip. He really didn't want to try to force himself into Leo's friend group. He was okay hanging out with Leo alone, but the prospect of hanging around with people he barely knew freaked him out. He didn't know how he was even going to survive the party on Saturday. "I don't know if I would be good at that kind of thing."

Leo took note of Nico's discomfort. "Hey, it's gonna be chill. Jason's friendly, he's a great guy. His sister is nice too. Pipes is a little abrasive at first, but eventually, you'll settle into the group."

"I doubt that," he mumbled bitterly, making a particularly sharp turn. "I don't exactly fit into most places."

Leo nodded slowly, doing his best to comprehend that. "Okay, okay. I respect that. But can you please at least try? You can dip whenever you want, and if you need me, we can have a code word."

Nico scoffed. "Okay, calm down, we don't need all that. I'm not some sort of porcelain doll." Nico looked down and smiled. "...I'll go. I might as well try."

"Yes! You won't regret it. Oh, it'll be fun. We can all carpool and then-oh! We'll meet up with Callie at the party. Callie and I have called a few times, she's pretty great, I like her voice a lot."

"I forgot about her," Nico said honestly. "She seemed fine."

"She's way more than fine, she's awesome," Leo said indignantly.

Nico shrugged. He didn't care much for listening to boys his age rave about hot girls. One, he couldn't relate, and two, why should he care about someone else's romantic partner? "If you say so."

"I think you guys might get along better than you'd think," Leo said, bouncing his leg.

Nico snorted. "Sure."

"I mean it!" He looked over at Nico indicatively. The boy was almost-smiling, just like how he was almost Leo's friend. "I do."

Nico's head shook up and down lightly, a barely noticeable gesture, one only evident if someone was looking closely at him.

…

On the first Sunday of every month, Leo would visit his mother's gravestone.

It was a long ride on his skateboard. Four miles round-trip. He rode the bus half-way there in order to cut corners, but it was still a lot of skating. Leo deserved it, though.

Overexertion was the least of the penalties he deserved for what he had done.

Leo approached his mother's gravestone. He clutched a bouquet in his right hand, a purchase from the local florist down the road. Three fivers for a bundle of purple hyacinths from a smiley individual. He had snickered and clapped Leo on the back and told him that "these flowers will knock her socks off, go get her tiger!"

Leo had awkwardly laughed and then clenched his palms so tightly crescent moons formed.

"Hey," he mumbled, sitting down in the space between his mother's grave and its neighbor. The ground was a little bit muddy from the rain two nights ago. "For you." Leo gently set the flowers on top of the earth with a sigh. He leaned against its side, shivering against the cold stone, and for a second, Leo could almost feel his mother, warm and laughing at something he had said.

He opened his eyes and he was back in the graveyard. With a bitten lip and watery eyes he tapped methodically against the stone, a little message to leave his mother. "I um, got a job. It's not as good as the old machine shop -" Leo laughed a little, a glum sound. "- but I think. You'd be. Proud of me." He spoke strangely, warped and dry.

It's just a fucking minimum wage job it's not that serious she wouldn't even care about this you're so pathetic it hurts. "I miss you. It's not the same. Dad hasn't visited in a while."

He doesn't even care about you he only pays for your things out of obligation and you don't even deserve that. "I'm glad he didn't move us far. It's in one of the apartments, over in Deirdre. A little better than our old crib." Leo's voice cracked a little. He was emotional. Visiting here panged his heart, hurt him in the worst possible way while also providing him with the slightest bit of closure.

It always invoked the same feelings in him when he visited. It had been nearly nine years since her death and he still felt his chest weigh down, his eyes flood, and his head burn when he visited. Leo supposed it was a flaw in his machinery, a minor bug that had been weighing him down, a nick in his important areas that slowed the most impertinent aspects of him.

You can't even fucking fix yourself can you? "I brought you these flowers." Leo fought to find his voice, tugging and pulling until it came out, a hazardous liquid spewing from his mouth, dribbling on his chin, because no matter how hard he tried he could never be eloquent with his words. "Do you like them?"

Green sprouts framed an explosion of buds, bunches and bunches of purplish stuff. The colors were vibrant and beautiful, bred incredibly by the florist to have blue edges blend seamlessly into plum. There were a couple of white and pink ones thrown into the mix, highlighting the features of the purple effectively. They were tied together with another white ribbon and a plastic sleeve, perfectly assuming.

If Leo could see himself skating down the street, clutching a bundle of these, he too would assume they were for a partner, a small present to apologize for little lover's quarrels or broken promises. The knot in his chest tightened. You're such a fucking -

Leo sucked in a breath and stood up, shaking his intrusive thoughts off and lingering his eyes on the top of the grave. If they lingered any lower, he would see her name, the date, a reminder of a day he would kill to forget.

Leo tapped one last message onto his mother's headstone and left, a bittersweet smile lingering on his lips.

...

Nico worried about the party a lot more than he let on.

A part of him was thrilled. He hated to admit it, but he always wanted to go to a crazy high school party- and in just one day, he was going to go to one. Nico di Angelo, who spent his usual Saturdays playing Pokemon, was going to go to a kegger.

The sentence felt so foreign. The words 'Nico' and 'party' weren't words that went together. Party? Ha! More like coop yourself up in your room and cope with the painful feeling of loneliness by playing Pokemon to escape reality!

Yeah, maybe getting out more would help Nico. The party might be the catalyst for that. Technically, he wasn't even invited, so he was crashing. Did that make it cooler or less cool, Nico wondered. Nevertheless, he was sort of excited.

At the same time, he was anxious as hell. Thinking about all the people that were attending made his head hurt. The Verbs were definitely going. If the Verbs went, that meant the freshman wannabes would follow. The pathetic seniors who couldn't get girls their own age would go because the freshman were. There were also the jocks and the Honor Society kids and all of it was too much to keep track of.

Plus, the party was likely going to be packed, packed with drunk teens and stupid antics and bad dancing. Nico was worried about where he was going to slot into in all of this. He didn't want to be a wallflower, for fuck's sake.

Nico had done some drinking before. When he was thirteen and decided he needed to be rebellious, he stole a bottle of vodka from his dad's liquor cabinet. He managed to drink a good amount before getting shitfaced. It wasn't really a good experience, especially since he was drinking alone. He mostly just felt empty afterward and his dad definitely noticed it the next time he poured out some vodka and ended up with a watery mess, but he didn't say anything.

In a social situation, things were different. He wasn't thirteen and curious. Anything could happen with the power of alcohol. He could become some sort of social butterfly. Nico snorted at the frankly stupid thought.

Frivolous things like parties weren't something he wanted to consume his mind. Nico was always deadset on never falling into the same traps as his peers. He wasn't going to obsess over his clothes or his hair or any of that stuff. He was fine with his usual dark clothing and messy hair.

Yet here he was, digging through his closet for things to wear. Leo had just told him to wear "whatever you want, man! It's not gonna matter." He flicked through article after article of clothing, past identical pairs of jeans and random graphic tees. Nico sighed, finally just deciding on jeans and a baggy black sweatshirt. As Leo said, it wouldn't matter.

He rechecked his watch. The party started at 8, and Leo told him to go to Jason's at 5. It was barely even 4 o'clock.

Nico groaned, flopping onto his bed and covering his face with his hands. He was overthinking it. "Fuck it, I just won't go," Nico growled, digging his hands into his pillow anxiously.

But he knew he couldn't just do that. He promised Leo, and for some reason, he was insistent on keeping it.

That boy was going to be the death of him.

Leo was getting less and less subtle about integrating Nico into his little friend group, but Nico was insistent on worming his way out of it time and time again.

It was stupid. Nico wanted to be apart of a group more than anything. He wanted to be able to fit in like everyone else. But he was openly declining an option to do so? What the fuck was wrong with him?

He knew it would all go wrong. He knew he would be an awkward hindrance to the group rather than a worthwhile member. He'd be a little bit of dead weight they'd keep around out of obligation. Nico considered that likely fate to be even worse than simply not having a friend group in the first place.

It's not like anyone wanted him around. Leo might find him fun to be around for a little bit, but eventually, he wouldn't. Either Leo wouldn't stick around for his shit, like Bianca, or Nico would run off on his own accord.

Nico sucked in a breath and pushed all of that away. No. He was going to relax and he was going to have a good time, goddamnit. He was going to be a normal teenager, and he was going to go to a kegger. He ran a hand through messy black hair and readied himself to leave.

Nico left his room, car keys in hand. He didn't carry anything else on him besides that - if he brought his wallet, it would get stolen, and he didn't have a cell phone to carry. Those were a commodity for only the richest folk.

"Where are you going?" Nico's eyes widened. In the heat of the moment, he had seriously forgotten he had a stepmom.

He thought of an answer, deciding to opt for the truth after a bit of hesitation. "I'm going to a party," he said, stoically. Persephone's lips tightened.

"Okay, stay safe out there." She left. That was that. No interrogation, no warnings, no shoutings.

If one moment in Nico's entire life could sum up his relationship with Persephone, that was it. Nico let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and walked out to his car, fingering the Cubone keychain on his car keys absentmindedly and thinking of Leo.

…

"Glad you can make it!" Leo beamed at Nico from the doorway. In the background, Jason was strapped to a chair, mouthing the word 'help' distinctly to Nico. A black-haired girl was brushing his hair aggressively. She made eye contact with Nico and waved to him. Another girl sat off to the side, eyes trained on the TV idly.

Nico gave a shy smile. "Thanks for inviting me," he said genuinely. Leo smiled back. Nico saw his real smile in that instance, sort of subtle. It made him look vulnerable, in a way. His hands twitched. like Leo wanted to do something with them but wanted to respect boundaries.

Leo kept up his awkward smile, flicking his glance behind him. "Shall we, uh, go in?" Nico nodded. Something weird had passed between them, but Nico chose not to acknowledge it.

They walked inside. It was an ordinary suburban house, nothing special about it. "This is Thalia, Jason's older sister," Leo introduced her to Nico as they walked in. "She's like, the coolest person ever," he gushed.

She beamed, icy blue eyes crinkling as she did. "I try." Thalia redirected her attention to her brother, fussing over his hair. "God, you have so much dandruff."

"How do I get rid of it?" Jason asked, crossing his arms as best as he could under his 'restraints' (he was tied up with a banner that read 'Happy 14th Birthday, Jason!'). "I can't fix something without knowing how to fix it."

"Like this." Thalia prodded Jason's chest. He looked down (a mistake) and Thalia took the opportunity to nick his nose. "Ha! You fall for it every time. Never gets old, I tell ya." Jason chuckled, scrunching up his nose.

Nico's shoulders relaxed- the environment felt very friendly, putting him less on edge. The dynamic between Jason and Thalia made him a little nostalgic. "Oh yeah, and that's Reyna," he said, pointing to the brown-haired girl on the couch. "I think she's Thalia's girlfriend or something?"

"Sure," Reyna said neutrally. "Nice to meet you, Nico." Reyna had a terrifying exterior - from her bulging muscles to her sharp eyes - but the way she looked at Thalia made their relationship clear.

"You two." Reyna nodded, keeping her eyes on the Spongebob episode that was blasting on TV. Nico took a reluctant seat next to Reyna, a full couch cushion away from her. Leo opted to hover over Jason as Thalia continued the makeover process.

"How do you tolerate him?" Reyna whispered to Nico, once she was sure Leo was distracted ("what does this brush do? Can I help you?"). Nico snorted, caught off guard by Reyna's forwardness.

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," he answered softly. "Some of his jokes are kinda funny."

"You're much more patient than me," Reyna admitted, resting her arm on the couch. "I respect you, Nico."

"Thanks." Something about Reyna was soothing. For such a strong-looking girl, she had a soft, Bob Ross-like voice. They watched the episode of Spongebob wordlessly, tuning out Thalia, Jason, and Leo in the back.

"Now that I've finished fixing Jason's stupid hair ("hey!"), we're onto his costume." Thalia narrated dramatically like she was on an episode of some extreme makeover show.

Leo grabbed Jason's cloak from the back of the couch. "What do you think about his costume?" he asked Nico, slumping down in between he and Reyna.

Nico blinked, catching onto Leo's choice of words. "Costume?"

"Yeah, it's a costume party, dude," Thalia said. "Where's your costume?" She peeked over the couch, looking at Nico's attire and deeming it un-costume-like.

Nico glowered. "Nobody told me about costumes." He gave a seething look to Leo, who gulped and smiled reflectively.

"Relax! I have a costume for you right here," he said nervously, rooting through a pile of clothes on the ground. He shoveled the bundle into Nico's arms. "Go to that spare room and change, preferably with the lights off. So it's a surprise. Yeah. Go."

Nico let himself be herded into a spare room defeatedly.

…

"I look ridiculous," Nico complained, looking himself in the mirror.

"Nonsense!" Leo insisted. "It's kind of a cute look," he said shyly, eyeing Nico up and down appreciatively. Nico couldn't tell if he was being ironic or not.

Nico was wearing a pair of spiky black wings, what looked to be a Mickey Mouse headband shittily cut into the shape of bat ears, and a black sweatshirt. Even worse, his usual black jeans were switched out for a pair of black shorts and fishnets. "What the fuck is this?"

"Um, a b-bat costume?" Leo was starting to get the feeling Nico wasn't a fan of it. "Do you like it?" Leo was praying Nico loved it. The fact that his eyes steamed with anger was probably just a coincidence.

"..."

"Is that a yes or a no?" Nico grabbed a can of hairspray from Thalia's little makeover station. Leo gulped.

"I'm guessing that's a no!" Leo cried out as he sprinted away from a surprisingly fast and definitely armed Nico. Nico's long, fishnet-clad legs benefited him in the chase, as opposed to Leo's stubby, ungraceful ones. He kept tripping over his own feet and trying to reason with Nico. "C'mon, I thought we were friends!"

Nico paused for a split second, and the corner of his mouth quirked up, an oh that's me! kind of smile, like he was still awestruck over the fact that he was Leo's friend. But then he remembered that he was supposed to be murdering Leo.

"Fishnets? Really?" He cut through the halls, trying to intercept Leo but barely missing every time.

Jason shook his head. "Those two…"

"Quit moving," Thalia complained, trying to get Jason's makeup just right. "Reyna, darling, can you pass me the eyebrow pencil? Thanks." She caught the pencil without even looking. She and Reyna were truly a power couple, synergized in a dangerous way.

Jason swallowed heavily. "Can you please hurry it up, Thalia?" Jason asked, fidgeting in his seat. "She might come here before you're done."

"I have to -" she raised her voice to be heard over Leo's shrieks of terror - Nico must have caught up to him finally. "I have to make you look absolutely perfect, Jason. Don't rush me."

After a while of running, Nico got tired and stopped, placing his palms on his knees and struggling to catch his breath. "Okay, I'm done. I'm not wearing this stupid costume though." He looked at his fishnets with disdain.

"C'mon, how about you just wear your usual jeans or something?" Leo reasoned.

"...Fine," Nico somehow found himself saying.

...

After getting bored of watching Thalia work on Jason's face, Nico and Leo joined Reyna on the couch, watching the latest Spongebob episodes and laughing together. Reyna wasn't as stiff as she seemed. Apparently even the most serious people loved Spongebob.

"Guys!" Thalia shouted. "Who is ready to see the new-and-improved Jason Grace?"

Reyna grunted, apparently uninterested in her girlfriend's decisions and more interested in watching Spongebob. Leo gave a half-hearted "Hell yeah!" to be a good sport, and Nico kept picking at his cuticles boredly.

"...Okay, well, he's coming in now," Thalia huffed, apparently disheartened by their lack of interest. "Here he is!"

Jason walked in embarrassedly, giving an awkward little twirl and smiling awkwardly. Nico looked up and blinked. "He looks exactly the same."

"No he doesn't!" Thalia said, defensively. Leo glanced up at Jason.

Nico was right - he looked like ordinary, handsome Jason. Blond hair cleanly split down the middle, Jeffrey Daumer glasses, and blue Air Jordans. The only difference was some light eyeliner and of course, his costume: he was wearing his cloak over a white undershirt. "Thalia, you seriously spent half an hour on this?"

"I got rid of his dandruff!"

"He had dandruff?"

"Shut up," Thalia said, shaking her head. "You still like me, right Reyna?"

Reyna smiled coyly. "Maybe." Thalia rested her head onto Reyna's shoulder, kissing her neck chastely.

Jason gave an obligatory "ew!" and slumped on the couch, squishing into Leo's side. They were pretty affectionate to each other - Jason didn't want to change that just because Leo had liked him at one point.

"That was torture," he moaned. "Think Piper will like this?" He gestured to his body. Leo scanned him.

"Hmm… Well, it really doesn't show a lot...think she's into modesty?" Leo pondered, adjusting Jason's cloak to see if it would expose more skin and frowning.

"Oh, I don't know," Jason said wearily. An idea came to Jason's mind. "How about you put on your costume? I could use a good laugh."

"No! I want it to be a surprise," Leo said stubbornly. Jason nudged Nico's side suddenly.

"Nico, don't you agree? You could use a good laugh?" Nico nodded, a little flustered at the fact that he was actually being included. He really didn't want to say anything stupid.

"See! Now go put it on." Leo groaned dramatically and ejected himself from the couch. Jason smiled and stretched out on the couch, taking advantage of the free real estate that was available after Leo left. He started to watch the episode of Spongebob like Nico was.

The entire premise was sort-of confusing to Jason… apparently a sponge and a starfish had adopted a baby clam? It was weird, especially without the context of the first half of the episode. He clicked his tongue, bored of waiting for Leo (he wasn't really an impatient person, but when he was riddled with the anxiety of an upcoming dance, well, he was open to any distractions).

Jason looked to the right of him- yup, his sister was making out with Reyna. Classy. For a college freshman, she lacked tact. And to think he thought Reyna was too serious or busy for a relationship.

He looked to the left. Nico was there, entranced in the episode somehow. Against his better judgement, Jason decided to strike up a conversation with Nico. "So, ever been to a party before?"

Nico flinched, apparently shocked that someone was talking to him. "No," he replied simply. It didn't surprise Jason. Nico looked like he was one of the loners at school. He had a scary exterior and didn't look easy to open up to. Still, Jason figured he might as well try. After all, Leo was somehow friends with Nico and Leo was Leo.

"That's cool. Well, ever done any drinking?" he followed up.

"A little at home," he admitted, shifting in his seat and thinking of his thirteen-year-old hijinks. "I guess I am a little nervous though."

Jason smiled. "You'll be fine. I've only been to one party before. Never drank, though. I was always designated driver."

"And because if class presidents got caught drunk, they'd be kicked out," Thalia chimed in, apparently done shoving her tongue down Reyna's throat. "That's why me and Reyna're just gonna stay here." Jason's lips twitched at the contraction- y'all'd've was bad enough as is.

"I mean, I'm a senior and she's in college," Reyna said, gesturing to Thalia. "Would be uncool to go to a high school party."

"Check out Leo Valdez, bad boy supreme!"

"Goddamnit," Nico mumbled under his breath. Jason turned his head to see what Leo looked like with his costume on.

He strutted into the room confidently, clad in his 'angel' costume: bird wings and a white tunic. It contrasted heavily with his thick-soled boots. Out of all the costumes, Leo's looked the most half-assed. Fit with his personality.

Before anyone could give an answer, Piper barged into the house, swinging open the door obnoxiously with no regard to whether she was being too rough. "I'm here!" she sang out. "Leo, you look stupid," she fingergunned.

"Oh, whatever, devil-girl."

Jason swallowed. Piper looked really good, and suddenly his cloak felt stupid compared to Piper's ensemble. Her Mary Janes gave her a little height, making her look incredibly powerful. Like she could stomp Jason's head in. Frankly, if she did that, he'd probably apologize to her.

"I don't wanna dilly-dally, guys! We gotta go!" Piper insisted, hopping up and down excitedly. "We agreed to go ASAP. It is now ASAP."

"Okay, okay, jeez," Leo grumbled, climbing off the couch and slumping over to Piper. Nico followed, but Jason was frozen in place.

"Be cool, little bro," Thalia whispered, rubbing his shoulder as Reyna nodded encouragingly. Jason stood, saluted them with a dorky smile, and left the house.

...

The car ride seemed to last forever to Leo. Long, boring, and monotonous things didn't seem to combine well with ADHD and slight carsickness.

On top of all that, he was meeting with Callie, his girlfriend. Leo figured it was their first date, kinda, and that was a lot. What was he supposed to do? Was a party the best first date location? Was he being an idiot? He fiddled with the edge of his tunic, which was already stained with Jason's eyeliner somehow.

The wings of his angel costume pressed into his back awkwardly. Leo looked in the rearview mirror, hoping to lock eyes with Piper, who rode shotgun. She winked at him. Thank god for Piper. Hopefully now he wouldn't be so bored.

"Sooo, I'm finally gonna meet the elusive Callie," Piper sang out, in the same tone a third-grader would use to make fun of someone else's crush. "Hopefully I can ask her why she'd choose to date you."

"Oh, shut up Piper," Leo said, but it was all good-natured. They were great with banter. "Imagine not having a date."

Piper scoffed, but she deflated somewhat and turned pointedly away from Jason. "Well, excuse me. And by proxy, you also insulted Jason and - and -"

"Nico." Nico supplied, deadpan and unsurprised by the fact that he was forgotten. Piper smiled apologetically.

"Oh, sorry man. I forgot you were here - you're so quiet! I never hear you speak." Nico groaned internally. He hated people who treated him like a pet or something just because he didn't talk much.

"It's fine. Are we almost here, Jason?" Nico asked, trying to edge away from the topic as fast as he could. Jason clicked his tongue.

"Good question… I think it's on our right. Look for a two-oh-six...?"

Eventually, Leo spotted the number. Or rather, he took note of the dozens of cars parted in one driveway. "Holy shit." There were cars lining the street, cars parked in the grass, and cars parked in other driveways that probably weren't supposed to be there.

"Damn!" Jason whistled.

"You know it's serious if the boy scout said a bad word," Leo teased. He watched packs of teens walk in. There were a few people on the lawn, clearly smoking weed. Off to the side, there was -

"Callie! Look, she's right there!"

Piper spotted her immediately. "Why is she just standing there? Oh well, she's actually kinda cute." She smiled at Leo. "You got lucky as fuck."

"Oh, I know."

Jason eventually was able to find them a parking spot on the street. Leo tugged on the car door handle impatiently. "Unlock the car!" His stomach was churning unpleasantly and he just wanted to tackle the situation as fast as he could.

Jason's eyes widened. Leo was going feral. "Okay, calm down. I'm just explaining ground rules. Don't leave your drink unattended. If you need to get away from someone, use the word taco." Leo rolled his eyes and mouthed along to Jason's speech, garnering a stifled laugh from Nico.

"He says this every time we're at a setting like this," Leo whispered as Jason explained what to do when caught alone.

He finished his speech and unlocked the car. Leo burst out the door and sprinted up to the house. Piper laughed, looking at Jason and Nico. "Let's go before he makes a fool of himself."

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter because you deserve it!
> 
> I'm sorry for the wait, but I kind of don't feel that good about Blockbuster and its writing. Since a lot of people are enjoying it, I'll keep publishing, but I'm definitely not as confident in my writing as I thought. So, yeah. sorry


	8. Dazed and Confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh school sucks.. but here is chapter ate.

"Hey, Callie," Leo greeted with a grin, panting and putting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He sort of wished he took his time instead of sprinting towards his sort-of girlfriend without a second thought. The sweaty look was probably not doing him any favors. "I'm so glad you made it."

Callie gave a strained smile. "Oh! Yes, nice to see you too." She looked at his attire. "What are you wearing?"

Leo twirled in place until he was dizzy. He had to rest a sweaty palm on Callie's shoulder to catch his breath. "I'm an angel!" Leo declared. "It's a costume party, duh. What are you?"

Callie was just wearing a pair of baggy blue Adidas track pants and a yellow tank top. "You didn't tell me I was supposed to dress up," she frowned. Leo slapped his forehead.

"My bad..." Leo was saved from the awkward moment by Piper, Jason, and Nico - who probably made things _more_ awkward since they were all dressed up. Even Nico was still wearing his little bat costume.

"Nice to meet you, Callie," Piper smiled, shaking her hand. "Now, let's go in. It's fucking cold out here." Everyone else voiced their agreements and walked in, Callie trailing behind everyone. The house was full of energy.

Loud music blasted through the house. Dancing couples were moving drunkenly to the music, brandishing red solo cups and revealing costumes of random characters. A table on the side held a massive trash can full of jungle juice. A little freshman came up to greet them, a tray of shot glasses in his hands. "Shot?"

Jason and Callie declined, but Leo, Piper, and Nico each took one. Nico downed his shot without even wincing. "Damn," Leo whistled. "Didn't know you could do that." He punched Nico's arm lightly.

"You're a bad puncher," Nico sniggered, putting the shot glass back on the freshman's tray.

Out of nowhere, Drew came barrelling up to them, knocking a few shot glasses over on the freshman's tray. "Go refill those," she glared. The freshman squeaked and ran off, and Leo wondered how much alcohol Drew bought. Drew plastered on a smile - one that faltered when she looked at Callie, Piper, Leo, and Nico.

Piper rolled her eyes. She should just start getting used to Drew forcing her way into everything she ever did. A mental image of Drew bursting in during her funeral played in her head, making her laugh out loud. Callie looked at her strangely.

"I'm glad you all could make it!" Drew was obviously directing her words towards Jason. She was dressed up as a sexualized version of Lydia from Beetlejuice, with a tight black corset over a lacy black dress, along with fishnets and high heels.

"For the record," Leo mumbled, tapping Nico on the shoulder. "You pull off fishnets _way_ better." Callie raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Thanks for inviting us," Leo said politely.

Drew's tone changed quickly. "Um, I wasn't talking to you. Speaking of which," she said, turning to Callie and Nico. "Who the fuck are these losers? They weren't invited."

Callie flushed red, but Nico just stared at her. "They're just our friends," Jason shrugged. "Didn't think it was a big deal." Nico silently went off towards a cooler, searching for a red solo cup. Apparently, he was uninterested in the exchange and seemed more interested in getting shitfaced.

"I guess i'm the Well, it's fine now," she said, tone quickly becoming syrupy sweet. "I like your outfit. What are you?"

"Cloak," Jason said.

"Oh!" Drew's voice made it clear she was faking recognition. "I love him. That movie was great."

"I swear, does she just think we're horse shit?" Piper asked, turning to Leo and Callie to complain before realizing they too had gone off. Piper groaned, looking to Jason for help but getting nothing.

"So, what would _you_ like to do, Jason?" Drew asked, running her hands against his sides and batting her spider-like lashes.

Jason scratched the back of his head absentmindedly. "Well, I was just gonna go dance with my friends or something -"

"Let's dance together!" Drew grabbed Jason's hand, planting it on her waist, and began to sway him towards the center of the room. Piper glared at the back of Drew's head and stormed off, snatching a beer out of some guy's hand on the way and downing it.

"So, Jason," Drew purred, grip tight on his hand. "Now that we're alone, let's see how well you can dance."

"O-okay," Jason said, turning his head to see where Piper was going. Drew grabbed his chin and directed it back towards her face with red-painted fingers.

"Forget about Piper! She doesn't give a shit about _you_ ," Drew scoffed, like the idea was ridiculous. Jason frowned, and for a second, he almost believed her. Drew's voice was strong and sounded nice, making her words feel credible. "Spend more time with people who care," she said, leaning into Jason with her lips slightly perked.

"You really aren't giving me a lot of choices," Jason admitted, looking down at Drew's vice grip. They danced a little to the music. Jason kept stepping on her toes, but Drew didn't say anything about his terrible dance skills. _Man, I Feel Like a Woman_ blasted loudly, almost gratingly so. It wasn't a good song to dance to.

"Jason," Drew whispered, saying the name so sweetly Jason almost wanted to dance the night away with her. The mood was soured by the puking freshman behind her. Apparently, fourteen-year-olds couldn't handle their alcohol. "You're so hot-ow!"

She tripped over the leg of a couple making out on the ground. Jason barely caught her by the back. Drew attempted a flirty smile. "Oh my god, I'm like, so clumsy." She kicked the couple with her pointy heel and kept dragging along Jason to dance.

…

Nico felt a little bit alienated. Jason was busy with Drew- Nico really couldn't tell if he was being manhandled or if they were just dancing. Either way, he didn't feel like stepping in. Callie and Leo had gone off somewhere, which kinda sucked. Sure, Nico was happy for his friend, but he kinda wished he could have hung around with someone for the night.

It was weird thinking of Leo as a _friend_. Even the word felt foreign in his brain. A friend. That's what they were.

Nico took a sip of his jungle juice and winced. Whoever had made it fucked up the ratio, leaving him with too much soda and not enough vodka. He observed everyone else in the room. That's what he usually did at bigger events- he sat back and watched.

Couples danced together to shitty pop songs, grinding on each other and moving to the beat of the song. Others played drinking games. There looked to be a game of truth or dare being played in the corner. Off to the side, some fellow sophomores busied themselves playing on an N64. Sometimes, a freshman would approach him and offer him a shot or a refill.

"Why are you guys acting like servants?" He had the nerve to ask one of them. The freshman looked ecstatic as hell.

"Well, I wanted to come to the party!" she lilted. "Buuuut Drew said I could only come if I helped out."

"Why don't you just put the tray down and party anyway? You think she's watching you the whole time?" Nico was genuinely baffled. Were some people _that_ desperate? The freshman shrieked.

"I could never! Drew would find out somehow. Then she'd ruin my life!" The freshman girl giggled as though _utter humiliation_ was pure comedy. "Speaking of which, I can't be seen talking to the guests for fun. Toodle-ooh!"

Nico felt as though he had lost three brain cells in the span of one conversation. He sighed, bringing his solo cup over to the kitchen and dropping his ass in a barstool. He could stay there for the rest of the night unbothered.

Nico sipped his poorly made jungle juice and fidgeted with the stupid bat ears Leo made him wear. He almost wanted to ditch them, but he just didn't have the heart.

"This party is _so_ fucking stupid, isn't it?" Piper complained, taking the seat next to Nico. She brandished her own red solo cup. From the way she swayed, this was not her first drink of the night. Nico suppressed an eye-roll. Of course, because nobody else was available, Nico was the one she had to talk with.

"Yeah, I guess." He sipped his empty cup just so he had something to do with his hands.

Piper tapped him and nodded over to Jason and Drew. "God, she's practically making a puddle over him. Desperate much?" Nico looked up at them.

Drew had Jason in a tight lock. They were still "dancing" (mostly, Drew was just trying to get as close as possible to Jason for as long as she could), like they had been for the past three songs. "Oh, she could stand to give him some personal space."

"Verbs are so dumb. They're just gonna be nobodies in a few years, why do people obsess over them?" Seeing as Piper was relentless with her talking, Nico decided to humor her. The alcohol was starting to make him feel a little lightheaded.

"Honestly, you're right," Nico said, adjusting his position in his seat. "I seriously don't even get the appeal of talking to girls like Drew."

"For real!" She threw her hands up, excited at the prospect of someone sharing her opinion. "She's a megabitch. What's appealing, her body? Her 'personality'? Please."

Nico gave a half-smile. "I just know Dawn is going to be one of those school nurses who would give a kid with a broken leg an ice pack. She just exudes that aura."

"Oh shit," Piper laughed. "She'll get bogged down with multiple mistakes-slash-kids and reminisce on her high school days without any warnings." Piper took a swig of her drink. "Okay, do Dash next."

Nico tapped his chin. "He'll be the guy wearing a highschool letterman jacket everywhere. Bonus points if he gets a tattoo of the final score of his last football game," he supplied.

They did the rounds, taking turns guessing the future of everyone at the party. "That stoner kid in the corner?" Nico pointed his chin over to Roger, who was busy trying to light his bong over the stovetop.

"He'll run a suspicious looking yet somehow very good hair cutting business," Piper decided after a beat. "Her?"

Nico observed the goth girl who was making out with some random soccer-playing jock. "Depressed in a dead-end office job at age thirty-eight." Piper whistled.

"Fuck, you're good. I'm guessing the soccer guy will be like a contestant on a reality show and everyone will hate him."

The little game they had made kept them occupied. Nico decided Piper was alright, even if she was still watching Jason and Drew, who were now squashed together on a couch. "Are you into Jason or something?" Nico wouldn't have the balls to say anything if he wasn't two drinks and one shot in.

"No!" she insisted quickly, eyes glued on Jason from across the room. Suddenly, their eyes met. "He's looking at us."

"Okay?" Nico knew she was bullshitting. Piper had a thing for Jason, and staring at him from across the room was not a good way to hide it. "What do you want me to do?"

Piper sighed. "I don't know. This was such a bad idea." Nico didn't know if she meant talking to him or coming to the party. "I'm gonna get some fresh air." She ran a hand through her hair and stumbled out of her barstool, knocking over her drink and sending a wave of reddish liquid over the counter. Nico winced in disgust and knocked back the last of his drink.

…

Jason's eyes fixated on Piper as she laughed, her eyes lighting up beautifully.

Piper's eyes were the most noticeable thing about her. They were a hauntingly dark shade of brown, intimidating and yet inviting at the same time. So many emotions could be read by just her eyes. They seemed to shift expressiveness as she did- going from sharp to soft to fierce in seconds. "Hello? Jaaaason!" Drew snapped her fingers. Jason's attention shot back to Drew.

"Yeah? Are we done now?" he asked. He was annoyed by the way Drew would cling onto his arm, drag herself along wherever he went.

Drew followed his eyes, scoffing when she saw they were on Piper. "Puh-lease! Don't tell me you're still on about _Piper_ ," she snarled, digging her sharp nails into Jason's arm.

"I really like her," Jason said simply. "What's the big deal? Why do _you_ have a problem with it?"

"Fuck love, Jason." Drew liked to use his name in nearly every sentence she spoke to make her words appear more inviting. "Listen, love is _finicky_. Love is _dangerous_."

A pucker formed in between his brows. "...What are you on about?"

"Look, love sounds great, but it's dangerous. I don't think you need to project it onto fucking Piper. She's just going to stomp on your heart or kill you in the process. Get with the program and stop giving a shit." Drew scoffed. "True love is bullshit, Jason."

"Well, Drew," he said sharply. "I don't know how you would know that. You don't know me or Piper or-"

"So what?" she cut him off. "I know what love does to a person," she seethed, getting up into Jason's face. "My sister was _so_ devoted to someone." Drew rolled her eyes.

"Wanna know where it got her? Her love was used against her. She was exploited, manipulated, all because of love. Silena got gaslit, abused, you name it. It fucking _killed her,_ Jason, it killed her." Her voice broke at the end, and she settled down slightly.

Jason swallowed hoping she was done, but Drew took another swig and continued. "Love is stupid. But you know what isn't stupid? Power." Jason shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "You could have it all. Popularity. Fame. Money, even. We could rule this motherfucking _world_ together and yet you choose to hang out with them. Leo and _Piper_."

"Leo, a weird-ass delinquent boy," Drew snorted as she spoke, as though Leo was less of a person to her. "And a girl who's just going to break your heart- I mean, she's the daughter of a fucking movie star! Piper's going to lead you on and break your heart and laugh about it." Drew laughed. "That's what those air-headed celebrities are trained to do. Cause drama. I'm sure her dad is telling her to do this." Drew's voice began to slur. She was drunk.

"Oh, Piper!" She moved one of her hands so it looked like they were 'talking'. "Start some drama for me, will you? It'll bring the ticket sales in for my next movie." Drew laughed, clapping her hands together maniacally. "Your love will get you nowhere, Jason."

Then, her voice shifted. It became more alluring, enticing. "You could just join me. You don't need to be dragged down by those two." She smirked devilishly. "And you aren't bad looking. We can carry on a loveless charade. What do you say?"

Jason blinked. "No." Drew's eyes shattered. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about your sister and I'm sorry that I'm just not interested." Jason ran a hand through his hair.

"I love Piper and Leo. They're my best friends, and they love me for who I am," Jason began. "They're not going to extort that. They're not going to control me. That's what you want to do, Drew." He sighed. "I'm gonna go find them."

…

Callie and Leo clung to each other as they 'danced'.

Well, it looked like Callie was trying to lead Leo into a complicated waltz, but he was stumbling and giggling. "I'm not good on my feet," Leo complained. Callie rolled her eyes and stopped him from falling.

"No, you are not. But I just want to have one good dance," Callie insisted, moving his hand to the correct spot. "This is my first party, come on," she complained, standing him up on his feet.

"Okay, okay, fine," Leo grumbled, swaying along with her. Callie gave a pleased smile- for a half-second, until Leo fell to the ground again.

"How are you this sloshed?" Callie rolled her eyes and sat on the ground next to him, shaking his shoulder. "Get up."

"It's comfy here," he giggled.

"I cannot believe you," Callie thundered. "I just want to have a good night and you're drunk off your ass after _one shot_." The smile-y Burger King girl vanished in an instant, and Leo realized he didn't even really know Calypso.

Leo twitched. "Stop making me sound like such a lightweight. I also had half of a beer." He moved his hands erratically.

"Still, not what I had in mind when you asked me out. Really, you are _such_ a joke," she fumed, crossing her arms and throwing her braid over her shoulder. "Why did I even agree to this."

Leo sat up and glared at Callie. She was no longer smiling with her entire face- she was scowling with her entire body. "Well, I'm not having a good time either."

"Boohoo!" Callie said, getting to her feet. "Who's fault is that?"

"...Yours?" Leo tried. "I mean, you're just bitching. Bitch bitch bitch. I'm not _Cappella_ or something. So what if I can't dance?"

Callie shook with anger. "I cannot believe you. Jerk."

"Well, you're just being uptight." He stood up, nearly tripping as he did. "I'm gonna find Nico. I bet _he_ won't force me to dance and then complain when I can't."

Leo turned his back on Callie and began to stumble away from her. "Maybe you should have gone to the dance with _him_ , then!" She yelled, inhaling sharply and blushing from the attention she had garnered. An audience had formed without her even realizing it.

Callie clenched a fist and stormed out of the house.

…

"Nicooo," Leo mumbled, hopping onto the chair surprisingly nimbly for a drunk guy. "Callie said she hated me."

Nico rolled his eyes. Apparently, he was a particularly good magnet for Drunk People that night. "Good for you." He almost took another sip of his drink absentmindedly, but he figured it was a good time to stop since his head was getting cloudy.

"No!" he said. "Not good! What do I do?"

Nico sighed, grabbing a bottle of water from a nearby cooler. He almost tossed it at Leo, but he figured Leo would get knocked over if it hit him. "Drink this and stay here so you don't do anything you regret."

"Yes sir." Leo downed the bottle and set it down. His tunic was ripped on the side, exposing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-patterned boxers. "See something you like?" Leo asked, nudging Nico.

"You're drunk. Also, really? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?" Nico said, judging him based off of his underwear choice.

"Oh, shut up." Leo made no act to cover up. Nico was content sitting there and listening to Leo complaining about Callie. The alcohol muddled his senses and it almost felt like he was underwater.

"Beer pong?" a random sophomore asked them. Leo nodded excitedly.

"Fuck yeah! C'mon, teammate." He slung an arm around Nico, who exhaled and went along with it. At least Leo seemed to be sobering up.

…

Piper sighed, leaning over the railing of the balcony. The loud music was dulled, muffled and barely audible. She flicked a bit of hair behind her ear and clicked chewed fingernails against the edge of the wood. A subtle breeze flowed through the air.

"Hey."

Jason.

Piper closed her eyes. She needed to be honest. "Are you and Drew a thing?"

Jason tilted his head. He had always shared the same mannerisms as a Golden Retriever. "No. She's okay, but no." He stood by her side, resting his arms on the railing and looking up at the stars. "So."

"So."

"You needed air too?" he asked, rolling back onto his heels.

Piper gave a weak smile. "Yeah, this night was a mess." Her costume was askew and one of her devil horns had fallen off sometime in the night.

"I wanted to ask you out," Jason blurted tactlessly, flushing at his confession. "I really like you, Piper. I was just too scared, because you're- you're so cool. And I also didn't want to ruin the friendship dynamic-thing we had."

Piper laughed, and Jason **shattered**. "I'm too cool? Please."

Piper looked up at Jason with her light brown eyes, every dark speckle visible in the moonlight. Jason liked it when the light hit Piper's eyes just right, it made her look radiant. Of course, he liked Piper's eyes all the time- sometimes it was hard for Jason to take his eyes off of them. They seemed to express emotions better than any other eyes could: shifting from happy to playful to sad as fast as Piper could. Her eyes softened.

"Jason, I really like you too. I just." She shook her head. "If anything, _you're_ the cool one."

"What?"

"You are," she insisted, tugging on his hand. "I don't care what you think about yourself, Jason, because it's _wrong_ and you're stupid for believing that."

"Oh," Jason said dumbly.

"Oh," Piper mocked. Her ears perked up. She could just make out the beginning lines of _Rebel Girl_ by Bikini Kill. "Can I have this dance?" she asked suavely.

Jason smiled. "The music is barely audible and we're on a balcony. Sort of dangerous, if you ask me."

"Well," Piper said, grabbing Jason's hand and beginning to sway him into a complicated pattern. "I'm a dangerous girl."

...

The car ride home was silent. Jason had to carry Leo to the car after he knocked over the beer pong table, Piper had inexplicitly decided to steal one of Drew's houseplants, and Nico was swaddled in Jason's letterman jacket.

"We are never going to a party again," Jason announced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol
> 
> im back to hs in person!! faring pretty well, but i still hate it


	9. Wild America

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the amount of kudos and bookmarks on this...... wtf I'm gonna cry

Lunchtime was pretty casual, as always.

Jason and Piper were attached at the hip, cuddled nicely together as they enjoyed their lunch. Leo and Nico were engaged in a game of Pokemon cards. Nico had started eating lunch with them, as opposed to eating in his car.

Nico mostly just talked to Leo while Jason and Piper ate together, which was fine. They would usually spend their time discussing the upcoming Pokemon movie or arguing about the logistics of dumb things (like whether blind people could see in dreams or if deaf people could hear their own thoughts). Sometimes, Nico would help Leo with his school work or vice versa.

It was a good set-up. Piper and Jason were both worried about Leo feeling as though he was falling by the wayside, but it seemed to be remedied by Nico's presence. Of course, the three of them were still thick as thieves and they all still hung out as a group and included Leo and sometimes Nico in their activities.

"Cannot wait until winter break," Piper muttered.

"Why?" Jason inquired, picking at the edge of his sandwich.

Piper opened his mouth to respond, but she was caught off-guard by the opening of the side doors. She hoped it wasn't a teacher, coming to chew them out for eating in the halls or being too loud.

Of course, of all the people to walk through that door, it was Drew Tanaka. Piper assumed that like the last few interactions they'd had together, it was probably going to involve Drew shoving her way into Jason's arms. Gross. "Drew, fuck off. Nobody wants to speak with you." Piper wanted to shut her down as fast as possible and get back to her conversation.

"Well, aren't we spicy today," Drew tutted, manicured hand on one hip. She didn't make any move to leave, instead rooting herself in place.

Piper sighed dramatically. "I'm serious, Drew."

"Think we should step in?" Leo asked Nico from the sidelines. Nico gave a deadpan stare.

"What do you think is going to be my response?" His gaze was almost intimidating, if it weren't for the Pokemon cards in his hands.

"So quick to assume, are we, McLean?" Drew asked, voice sugary sweet. Her inflections were smooth and clear, giving a slightly grating but overall pleasant effect to her voice.

"You have a shit track record," Piper retorted. "So get away from my friends, and my boyfriend, and we won't have a problem." She folded her arms and glared at Drew.

Apparently, she found this funny, evident by her bouncy giggles. "Wow! Okay, I'm not here for them." She flicked her wrist at Nico, Leo, and Jason disgustedly. "I want to talk to you."

Piper didn't anticipate Drew's response. "Umm…"

"Cool." Drew grabbed Piper's wrist, her sharp nails digging into Piper's skin.

"Could you not manhandle me?" Piper complained, trying to pry away at Drew's grip unsuccessfully.

"Maybe if you would just follow me normally," Drew scoffed. She released Piper's hand once they got to the girl's restroom.

"Why here? What, you gonna give me a swirly?"

Drew looked insulted at the very idea. "How unbecoming that would be. No. I'm serious, I just want to talk, Pipey." Piper winced at the stupid nickname.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

Drew took a deep breath. "Okay, I can not believe I'm saying this, but I'm sorry."

Piper did a double-take. She nearly keeled over by Drew's words. A part of her wondered if she was being pranked, like an over-the-top TV host was going to pop out of one of the bathroom stalls or the trash can and yell "you've been punked!"

"Oh, for real?"

"Yes, for real," Drew said, emphasizing Piper's mannerisms in a mocking manner. "It was not cool for me to try to butt into what you and Jason had going on. It's just-"

"It's just what, Drew?" Piper interrupted. "You were just bored, so you decided to fuck up my life even more?"

Drew growled. "Would you let me speak for once? I'm jealous of you. There, I fucking said it. I am jealous of you."

"I am lost," Piper admitted, kicking a wadded-up bit of paper. "Why would you be jealous of me?"

"Because you left the hivemind of popularity. You rejected all that to unapologetically be yourself," Drew explained, leaning on the sink uncomfortably. "I can't just abandon the life I have like you can."

"Why not?" Piper challenged. When she distanced herself from the popular crowd, she was only shunned for about a month before she found Leo, and by extension, Jason. "What's stopping you?"

Drew shook her head. "It's not that easy, Piper. I've already built myself a reputation. I'm not even close enough to any of the other popular folks, I'd be starting from the bottom as a junior."

"It's just high school, Drew," Piper said. "It's not that big of a deal. Do what you want to do, I'm sure it'll be more enjoyable with friends."

"I'm not that strong, Piper," Drew sighed. "You'll understand someday."

"This seems really fucking dramatic for this scenario, but okay," Piper laughed, sticking her hands into her pockets.

"Dramatic is my brand." Drew adjusted her posture. "It's more than just popularity, honestly. I felt like I was designed to be this mean girl stereotype, like school me and the real me were supposed to be separate, but the line blurred more and more until- until it just wasn't there anymore."

Piper didn't know what to say. "She's still in there, though. The real you."

"Buried deep."

"You can still uncover it," Piper insisted. "I mean, personally, I really like fashion. And the color pink," she admitted. "But like, if I show it, it'll make me look weak. So I just don't express it. I know it's kind of a stupid thing, but still."

"Who the fuck cares if you like fashion?" Drew said, flabbergasted. " It's not weak. Wear what you want. Like what you like. Who cares about society's view on it? Fuck them."

Piper laughed nervously. "T-thanks, Drew. I think…"

"You're welcome," Drew replied with newfound confidence. "It doesn't matter if some girls like fashion or beauty or whatever. It doesn't define your worth as a person."

"That's actually - oh man." Piper paused. She really didn't think Drew actually had a brain of her own- why? Because she liked stereotypically feminine things? Piper realized just then how stupid it was of her to judge a person off of their interests. "Wow. That's smart. I'm sorry I judged you for such stupid things…"

Drew gave a red-lipped smirk. "It's fine!" She crushed Piper in a hug, her perfume smell tickling her nose hairs. "Now that we have that out of the way, how is Jason? C'mon, I think you could use some girl talk- doubt Leo's very good at that," she snorted- an inelegant sound compared to her usual high-pitched giggle.

Piper realized in that moment that Drew was just another teenage girl, just like her. She wasn't such a bad person after all.

…

"Your turn," Nico said. Leo hummed, applying an energy card to his Squirtle Pokemon card. They both carried a strange concentration on the game at hand.

"I see," Nico mumurred. He put a Raichu card over his Pikachu and smirked. "Well, I evolved my Pikachu."

"Goddamnit!" Leo yelled. Jason did not understand the game- did Nico's placing of one weird animal card on top of another weird animal card really elicit such a reaction?

"So, Pokemon, huh?" Jason said awkwardly, finding himself in a strange position. With Piper gone, Jason was sort of on the side-lines of Nico and Leo's dynamic. They seemed to be engaged in a dramatic Pokemon card game, and it left Jason feeling almost like a third wheel, like he was intruding on something.

"Huh?" Leo's eyes flickered off his cards, like he forgot Jason was even there. "Oh yeah, dude. We're neck-and-neck. Whoever wins gets the pile." He gestured to a pile that held two breath mints and a half-used pen.

Jason arched an eyebrow. "I see…"

"Nico's a beast, I just learned the other day," Leo explained.

Nico rolled his eyes. "It's your turn, dumbass. Play a card." Nico never really paid much mind to Jason or Piper - they'd have occasional conversations at most.

"Fine! Pressure me," Leo grumbled. "I use bubble." He flipped a coin, which made Nico groan.

"Really? Now I'm paralyzed." Jason was confused as hell, but he was glad Leo had someone else to talk to and play Pokemon with. He knew if Nico wasn't there, Leo would coerce him into playing a round of Pokemon and Jason would end up with a headache.

A part of him was also happy Nico had a friend - the kid was always so sad looking. Jason gave a smile, like he was a proud dad. He was happy for both of them.

...

"Are you still on about the Callie thing?" Nico asked. The Blockbuster was empty, as it was ten minutes before closing on a Thursday night, so he took it upon himself to break the strange silence that had fallen between them. Leo had been silently stewing for the past week, and it was hard to ignore.

"You've already asked this, Nico," Leo grumbled, resting his chin on the counter. Nico rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I have, and you keep deflecting with stupid jokes." Nico sighed, watching Leo sulk from the other counter. "I know you just do that when you don't want to face your problems. So answer me: are you still on about the Callie thing?" he repeated.

"Do I haaavvve to answer you?" he whined like a small child.

"No, but if you want me to stop asking, yes," Nico replied. He opened a package of sour candy and tossed it over to Leo, who caught it easily. "Look, man, it's been nearly a week since the party. You're going to have to face the music someday. You can start by telling me what's wrong."

Leo sat up, shoving his hand into the bag and stuffing a handful of sour candy into his mouth. He swallowed and began to speak. "So, you already know she's pissed at me. Drunk me is a fucking snitch, apparently."

Nico snorted. "You don't say." Leo was a total fucking lightweight.

"Shut up! Anyway, I tried to call her, but she wouldn't pick up the phone," Leo recalled. "Which sucks, 'cause like, she was gonna be my junior prom date and my girlfriend. She can't just act like that."

"Seems a little conceited, but go on," Nico encouraged. He checked his watch. Closing time. "Oh, we have to pack up."

Leo grunted and continued his story as they went around the store, picking up fallen VHS's and restocking some of the shelves. "I went to the Burger King with Pipes and Jason, and guess what!" Nico opened his mouth to guess but Leo kept talking. "Some guy told me she quit! Was it because of me?" he wondered.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence," he shrugged, now knowing why he and Leo hadn't been to that particular Burger King in a while.

Leo shook his head vehemently. "No, because she knows me and you go there for Pokemon Burger King Toys and she didn't want to have'ta see us- well, me," he corrected quickly. "Doubt she's mad at you."

"I should hope not."

They finalized the closing process, doing their typical half-assed cleaning job. Nico locked up the doors with a set of keys. "Okay, so how are you going to win her back?" he asked.

"That's the fucking thing, Nico. I don't know!" He threw up his arms. Nico slumped into his car.

"Cool. Now get in the car, asshole, before I drive off." Leo hopped into the passenger seat and shut the door more forcefully than he needed to.

"So, she dropped out of school, so I don't know where she is, and she quit her job, so I can't just go to Burger King," Leo ranted, moving his hands anxiously as Nico backed out of the lot and bit back the urge to make fun of Leo's overuse of the word 'so'. "Nico, can you please help me with this? Come home with me."

"Whoa, hold on," Nico chimed in, redirecting his attention to their conversation. "Do what now?"

"You heard me," Leo scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "You told me to ask her out, so you are going to stay up with me as long as it takes to come up with a solution."

"Excuse me?" Nico said. "I just encouraged you to do it. I'm not responsible here."

Leo clenched a fist. "Please! I'll take your Tuesday shift, I know you hate that one," Leo reasoned. "If I do this alone, I'll get too anxious. Please?" he reiterated.

Nico sighed. "Fine." Leo cheered.

"All right!"

"But you need to take the Tuesday after that as well." Nico fiddled with his belt loops as he drove, mentally preparing himself for the night ahead.

"You got a deal."

…

Leo lived in a shitty little apartment in the bad side of town. Nico didn't demonize him for it, but it was definitely something he noticed when he would drop off Leo after work. It was even more emphasized by the silent game of 'kick the used needle' Nico and Leo had begun to play on the way up to his apartment.

Nico had noticed a look in Leo's eyes as they climbed up the stairs. They held a little bit of anxiety. His grin didn't work on Nico anymore, he could read Leo's emotions beyond his mask. He didn't feel it was right to question Leo, anyway.

"Here it is!" Leo announced, doing jazz hands and opening up his apartment door. "Casa de Leo!" Nico entered after Leo.

The apartment itself was definitely small- there was a little living room, a kitchenette, and a door that likely led to a bedroom. The furniture was mismatched and looked to be constructed out of other things. Despite the shabby interior, Leo had obviously tried to spice it up. There might have been pictures taped to the wall and crayon drawings from Leo's childhood pinned on the fridge, but it didn't hide the imperfections. The dents in the wall. The stains on the carpet.

The house was definitely clean, but it still didn't look fantastic by any stretch. "Okay, I know it's not great..." Leo admitted, slumping into the couch.

"That's fine," Nico said neutrally, dropping his bag on the floor and sitting next to Leo. "Are any of your parents home or…" he dropped his sentence after seeing the look on Leo's face. "Are you okay?"

Leo snapped upright. "I- yes." He rubbed his temple. "God, I just don't like having people around. I don't even know why I invited you over."

"You don't have to tell me every facet of yourself, Leo," Nico said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He wasn't great with physical contact unless he initiated it.

Leo smiled and nodded evenly, eager to change the subject. "Do you like enchiladas?"

…

When Nico di Angelo got a part-time job at Blockbuster, he didn't expect it to lead to him helping his coworker/friend (whom he used to hate) make enchiladas at eleven P.M. in his apartment while they brainstormed ways to get back said coworker's sort-of girlfriend.

But he was kinda glad it did.

"Yep, chop them up!" Leo hyped him up as he chopped onions. Leo was doing most of the work- toasting the flour and cooking the ground beef effortlessly while Nico struggled to chop onions. Tears flooded his eyes as he hacked away at the onions.

"I'm so bad at this, sorry," Nico mumbled.

"Oh, not really," Leo dismissed, removing the beef from the skillet.

"Easy for you to say," Nico complained, finishing up the onions and moving onto the tomatoes. "You're a natural."

Leo scoffed. "Please. My mom taught me most of this…" he said nostalgically. "You just need to practice. Position your hands like this-" Leo guided Nico's hands gently. "For this cut, don't saw on the fruit. Just press."

Leo helped him for the first few slices before taking his hands off of Nico's awkwardly. He hadn't even thought about it when he touched Nico - Nico was his friend, and if it were Jason or Piper he wouldn't have dwelled on it this much. But he never had any recollection of being in such close proximity to Nico before.

"I didn't get the chance to learn any of this myself," Nico admitted, chopping the tomatoes as Leo moved onto grating the garlic.

"Your mom wasn't big on cooking?" Leo ventured, putting aside the garlic for later.

Nico frowned. "No. She was a great cook. Made the best pasta. But only my sister remembered her recipes. I was too young to ever learn."

Leo bit his lip. "Oh. So I presume…"

"Yeah." Nico ceased his chopping for a second. "She died when I was ten. Me and my sister ended up moving here to live with my dad."

Nico waited. He waited to hear Leo make a stupid joke- or worse, give an empty 'I'm sorry.'

Instead, Leo smiled weakly. "I was eight when mine died." He let out a heavy sigh, and in the moment, Leo looked small. "It's hard sometimes, isn't it?"

They found a weird bit of solidarity in the fact. "I really...I really fucking miss her, Leo," Nico said, setting the knife down and looking at his shoes.

"Things hurt a lot less, but there's still those moments, I get you." Leo tapped out a pattern on Nico's shoulder absentmindedly. Nico stiffened.

"Morse code?"

"You know morse code?" There was a hint of panic in Leo's eyes for a second.

"No," Nico said honestly. "I just recognized what you were doing."

Leo softened. "My mom used to do that a lot." His shoulders dropped and he began to press the limes into a chipped glass lemon squeezer, something efficient to give his hands something to do. "Morse code. She knew I wasn't the best with people or conveying my thoughts in the most concrete way, so a lot of the time we relied on morse code."

Nico nodded slowly, holding onto Leo's words. Leo was at the most vulnerable point Nico had ever seen him at. Before, he would at least cling to his mask, his cheerful, humorous persona, as a safety blanket to avoid uncomfortable situations. But now, his mask was discarded, cast aside, and he was sharing another side of himself.

"She learned it from her grandpa, and we picked it up as a silent way to communicate when we were distant. I only learned simple phrases."

You okay?

I love you.

I'm sorry.

"When she - when she died -" Leo pressed the lime into the lemon squeezer harder and harder, lime guts spilling over the sides of the dish. "I kept it up, as a stupid little habit. Makes me think of her, like she's still here and I'm talking to her."

Nico swallowed heavily. "She sounds like a great woman. I'm sorry she's gone." Nico said it genuinely, empathizing with Leo's loss and feeling closer to him in the process.

Awkwardly, Nico pulled Leo's hands off the lime - he was beginning to shred through the peel of the lime and was dangerously close to rubbing his palm onto the lemon squeezer itself - and enveloped him into a hug.

Leo returned it, appreciating Nico's rare show of affection. Their first hug, Leo thought needlessly. It was a little bit awkward, with their differing height and Nico's stiffness, but it was comforting nonetheless. "Thank you."

They broke away and began a stilted transition back to focusing on food preparations. Leo's enchilada recipe was a complicated one, but it was a nice distraction to them as they worked in a warm silence. "My sister went only a year after my mom did," Nico said suddenly. He had been washing the dishes, lost in thought as Leo handled the skillet-work.

"You really wanna one-up me on this whole 'tragic backstory' thing, huh?" Leo blurted out.

Surprisingly, Nico just let out a bark of laughter. "No. No…" He shook his head. "But I figured…" he gestured wildly. "We might as well get all this over with in one session."

Leo's eyes flickered over to the kitchen clock. It was twelve A.M. on the dot now and he was making enchiladas with Nico and talking about their trauma. "Oh, I get it," Leo said, encouraging Nico to continue.

"It was a car accident," Nico began, speaking quickly like if he didn't share everything right that second all his memories would drift away. "I was mad at her - god, I was fucking mad at her - because she was going to middle school and she was hanging out with all these new friends and I was." Nico paused. "I was left in the dust."

"We had been living with my dad and my stepmother for a while then." Nico shoved another dish into the dishwasher. The sizzle of the skillet was oddly calming. "Bianca - my sister." The words looked hard to say. "She was dad's favorite as well. And when she died, I felt like we all drifted apart again. Everywhere I fucking went, I was an outsider, even in my own family, once Bianca died."

Leo took a deep breath. "I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me that, Nico." His voice was serious. "Really."

"I had to, otherwise I'd lose the traumatic-backstory contest," Nico insisted with a knowing smile, stealing Leo's comedy coping mechanism for a bit.

Leo smiled. "Well, I don't know if I wanna just drop my own." He added the broth to the skillet and whisked as he spoke. "Tragic backstory, I mean."

"That's completely fine."

"I guess I should explain the apartment thing," Leo decided, eyes lingering on a crayon illustration of a dragon. "My dad can't make a lot of time for me. He pays the bills for the place, sends enough money to afford the basics, but he rarely comes around," Leo sighed.

"It's a lot better than foster homes but it's not ideal," he admitted.

"I like your apartment," Nico said. "It's cozy. Nice to cook in."

"I agree." They went back to their separate tasks, occasionally nudging each other's hips or making comments about random things and laughing because it was getting to be that time of night where everything was funny.

Leo tossed the food into the oven, satisfied with their work. The situation felt hideously domestic and foreign to Leo.

He hoped he and Nico could cook together more often.

…

Nico scooped a bit of the enchilada onto his fork. It was fresh out of the oven, steaming hot with melted cheese oozing over the tortilla. He blew on it and took a nervous bite.

"Well?" Leo asked. "Does Chef Leo's world-famous enchiladas hold up to your standards?" He was secretly nervous - this particular recipe was complicated and different than his usual enchilada recipe. He wanted it to be special, just for Nico.

"It's amazing." Nico was shocked - Leo didn't seem to be the type to be good at cooking. "Thank you."

"You did most of the chopping," Leo said, undermining his own skill.

"Still."

Leo swallowed. "Okay, let's just get to the Callie thing. How am I going to find her again?"

Nico focused on a hefty book resting on top of the fridge. "Uhh, have you tried the phone book?"

Leo smacked his forehead, his fork clattering onto the counter. "Shit."

…

"Her last name is Atlas, so this'll make it easy," Leo sighed, shoving the dish of enchiladas out of the way and plopping the thick book onto the table. Nico sneezed. He didn't take too well to dust.

"Well, let's start," Nico grumbled, flicking over to the 'A' section.

"Assenberg."

"Aston."

"Atkins."

"Atteberry."

"At-Oh! Atlas!" Leo said, straightening up and putting his finger firmly on the book so as to not lose his place. "Calypso Atlas," he read out loud.

He hummed as he read her information. "This feels a little creepy," Nico admitted, finishing up his bit of enchilada. "I hope Callie doesn't think it's creepy."

"No, it's not creepy, don't be silly," Leo said as he finished reading and writing down his ex-girlfriend's address, name, and phone number. He checked the clock. It was two in the morning. "Think we should go now?"

"Fuck that," Nico snorted. "I wanna get to sleep."

Leo sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep- the curse of ADHD would keep him up all night long. "Okay, fine."

He shut the phone book with a thud, setting it back on top of the fridge, right next to a copy of Naruto and the Charmander plush he shoplifted from the Toys 'R Us. "Let's clean up," he proposed, popping his hand into Nico's knee-pocket and smirking when his knees buckled. Nico smiled fondly, shaking his head and covering up the enchilada tray with some spare tin foil.

…

Leo shifted awkwardly in bed, laying on his back while Nico lay on his side, facing the wall. Their shoulders brushed awkwardly. In hindsight, Leo should have remembered he didn't have a sleeping bag or that his lumpy loveseat was much too small for Nico to sleep on or that his own bed was also Not Very Big.

The whole 'bed-sharing' thing really shouldn't have been such a big deal. After all, he and Piper had shared a bed plenty of times before, same with him and Jason. Not a big deal.

In the dark, with the smell of enchiladas still filling the room, the press of a bony elbow, and the two-a.m. sensation, the beating thought of you shouldn't be awake, it made his stomach churn.

His mind lingered on the night they had together, how much he enjoyed cooking with Nico. The enchiladas were not settling well like they had hatched into butterflies in the span of less than an hour.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here you are babes! working on a side valdangelo one-shot as well. look out for it... ;)


	10. Mystery Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe

Leo woke up to a faceful of black hair and an uncomfortable amount of physical contact.

He and Nico's limbs were intertwined awkwardly, Nico's leg stretching across his torso and Leo's arms somehow under _and_ over Nico's body. There was much too much contact in all the wrong places and it made Leo's stomach sink in the oddest way possible. Leo wriggled his way out of bed with a flushed face, took a deep breath, and began his day.

He got dressed before Nico could wake up - if he took too long, there would be an awkward conversation about who would change where and that just meant extra discomfort. Leo was content to change in the bathroom. He slipped on his binder and put on his best pair of jeans and his nicest oversized Goodwill shirt. He finger-gunned his reflection and ran his hands through his hair.

Leo had not planned his speech. He knew his basic talking points: definitely an apology was in order, and maybe he could ask her out and they could do something more Callie's speed. First, he would need to figure out what Callie even liked.

 _Maybe she liked buff guys._ Leo's own scrawniness was one of his main insecurities. It was something he _really_ hated about himself, and always correlated it to his lack of a relationship. He got on the ground and began to do push ups.

He thought about digging out his old 1980s jazzercise VHS, the one his mom would watch every Monday, but something told him that wouldn't impress Nico - not that he was trying to impress Nico, but he didn't exactly want to make a fool of himself in front of him. Besides, every single routine he had tried would never stick - ADHD made routines hard for Leo. It was a wonder he showed up to work on time.

Besides the fact that he skated everywhere, he got little to no exercise on a day-to-day basis. So, he ended up wheezing five push-ups in. Leo flopped over and groaned, realizing there was no point in overexerting himself because he wasn't going to get _ripped_ in the time before it took to get to Callie's.

Nico opened the door to the bathroom, a bemused expression forming on his face when he saw Leo lying on the floor. "Why are you just laying there?" Nico asked, prodding Leo with his socked foot.

Leo sat up, running a hand through his hair and hoping his face wasn't too flushed. "Uh, I assume you're ready to leave?"

"Yeah, just need to use the bathroom."

Leo nodded. "Go ahead." His mind was scrambled. He slipped past Nico and left the bathroom, hoping his baggy clothes would conceal his skinny frame and that Callie really liked non-muscly dudes.

…

"Are you nervous?" Nico asked. He had to take over driving the car after Leo nearly hit two stoplights and a stray cat. Apparently, Leo was not good at driving under anxiety.

Leo's back straightened. "What? No? What made you say _that_?" His voice squeaked at the end.

Nico snorted. "Maybe the fact that your hands are shaking?"

Leo shoved his hands under his legs. "No, they're not, actually."

"How about the way you keep looking around randomly? Or how you keep mumbling random shit? What about the way your leg keeps jiggling?" Leo stopped doing all three of those things immediately in that order.

"Doesn't mean I'm _nervous_ ," Leo said, crossing his sore arms and mocking Nico's voice by deepening his own. Nico rolled his eyes.

"Oh, cut the shit. You're nervous."

Leo uncrossed his arms and tapped his fingers against the center console. "Okay, fine. I am nervous," he admitted.

"Thank you. Well, I'm sure she will accept your apology," Nico said. "Just don't be stupid."

"Okay!"

After a small fight over the CD album, Nico put on a Red Hot Chili Peppers album, nearly snapping the disk as he shoved it into the CD slot. "Just listen to the music and relax." Leo slowly nodded. "And stop making your hands shake like that."

"Wha- I can't control that!" Leo complained, holding out his hands, which were vibrating nonsensically. "See?" He shook his hands for effect.

"Yeah, I'm not blind," Nico said. "Fine." He grabbed one of Leo's shaky hands and intertwined it with his own, squeezing it comfortingly. His hand was cold. "Sit on your other hand."

Leo froze up, relaxing a bit under Nico's touch. "Oh. Thanks."

"Not a big deal." Nico looked at the road pointedly, clinging to the wheel with his left hand.

…

"Well, here we are."

The ride had been rather low-key. They listened to random punk-rock albums and held hands. The gentle rocks of the vehicle managed to soothe Leo a bit.

They arrived at Callie's house shortly. It was on the outskirts of town, so it took a little while, but they got there in the end. Nico stopped the car, parking by the curb.

Nico rubbed a little circle on the back of Leo's hand. "Go on," he said, releasing Leo's hand. "Go get her."

"I think I'm gonna blow chunks, dude." He looked like he was being serious.

Nico's nose wrinkled. "Uhh, don't?"

"I won't, probably." Leo took a deep breath. "I'm going in," he said dramatically, as though he was going on a dangerous, life-threatening mission.

"Okay, Jack Swigert," Nico snorted. "You're apologizing to your girlfriend, not landing on the fucking moon."

"Thanks for the 'good luck'," Leo grumbled, unbuckling his seat belt and sliding out of the car.

He steadied himself as he walked, tucking his hands into his pockets and then taking them out and retucking them anxiously. Leo flicked his eyes back at Nico and nervously smiled before sprinting up to the door of Callie's house. It was in an older part of town, so the house was a little more run-down. Leo rang the doorbell.

About a minute later, Callie answered the door.

Her perfect, cinnamon-y hair was up in a messy bun. She was wearing a matching pajama set, with long sweats and a little tank top. _Pretty._

Then, Leo noted her expression - Callie, who was usually sunshine-y and smiley, resembled a bull seeing red. _Terrifying._

Her eyes narrowed further when they set on Leo. "What are _you_ doing here?"

For someone dressed in such an elegant pair of pajamas, she looked like she could rip Leo to shreds.

To say she was _pissed_ would be an understatement. Leo opened his suddenly-dry mouth. "...I'm sorry," he said stupidly, blurting out the first thing he could think of.

"Excuse me?" Callie made a move to slam the door, but Leo intercepted her move by propping his foot into the doorframe, stopping the door with his foot. The door made a painful _thud_ as it collided with his shoe.

"Wait, wait, wait!" He moved his hands in panic, wincing from the pain, which had suddenly made his voice turn squeaky. "Hear me out, hear me out."

Callie raised an eyebrow, but she didn't shut the door or say anything else, so Leo decided to speak regardless. "I'm listening, I guess," she muttered.

"I know I'm an ass. I know I was being stupid, but I was drunk!" Leo reasoned. Callie looked down at him- she had a couple inches on Leo. "Anyway, I promise I'm not normally like this. In fact, I'm normally better. So...wanna give this dating thing another shot?"

Callie smiled. "No."

Leo deflated. You can physically see his soul leave his body. "Why not?" He genuinely thought his plan was going to work.

"Why not?" Callie challenged. "Maybe because you showed up at my house at nine in the morning to give me a half-assed apology?"

"But -"

"How did you even find my address?"

"Um, the phone book?"

Callie's face set into disgust. "That's creepy, and we're over, Leo," she announced, rolling her eyes to set in her point. "You were a bad boyfriend. I know I'm not even the one you wanted to go to that stupid dance with," she said cryptically.

Leo stopped, rewinding her words in his head. "Wait, wait. Hold on, I wanted to go to the dance with _you_."

Callie smiled tightly. "Sure. It didn't seem like it, though," she added airily.

Leo's brow furrowed. "Actually though, that doesn't make any sense, I-"

"If you're just gonna babble, leave," Callie scoffed, flipping a bit of hair for dramatic effect. "Goodbye, Leo." Callie kicked his foot out of the doorway and slammed the door for real that time.

Leo recoiled in emotional pain. He could hardly even feel the sting of the door hitting his foot or the sharp wind in his face or note any sense of time passing.

He just felt **pain**.

Leo stood there, the words 'goodbye Leo' echoing in his mind, over and over again, a broken record repeating itself. He felt frozen as he stood at the doorstep of the girl who he thought he liked, arms tied to his sides, feet rooted in place.

What grounded him back to reality was a careful hand on his shoulder.

"Leo." His voice was soft. "Come on."

Leo felt himself nod, and then Nico was leading him back to the car by his hand.

…

Nico had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to do when comforting someone.

Leo was still like a statue. Nico didn't know what to say, what to do. "Leo? Are you okay?" he asked stupidly. _Like, I know you got your heart broken probably, but I just wanna make sure if you're chill or not._

Leo gave a vague grunt and sighed, covering his face with his hands. "I don't even know, Nico," he replied, voice hoarse. "What did I do wrong?"

"I don't know," Nico said, honestly.

Leo sunk in his seat. "Life just _loves_ to fuck me over. The second someone is anywhere close to liking me like that, poof! Gone. Now I'm back to square one." He sulked in his seat, normally twitchy fingers remaining still.

"I thought I finally got a girlfriend, I finally filled in the last bit of my life, kinda, and then she stomps on my heart."

"I- Leo…" Nico said, not knowing what to say. "Don't get mad at her for that. And don't get mad at yourself. Sometimes relationships just...don't work out." Nico reached a hand out before faltering.

Leo removed his hands from his face. He wasn't crying, but his eyes were sharp. "What do _you_ know?" Leo snapped. "You aren't in a relationship."

Nico closed his eyes. "You're right, I'm not in a romantic relationship right now," he voiced, confessing to the backs of his eyes. "But I have a stepmother and a father. I don't necessarily get along with either of them. We don't have much of a relationship at all."

"That's different," Leo decided. He looked odd while standing still- his hands weren't twitching, his leg wasn't bouncing. He didn't look like Leo. Leo was a choppy river, churning and overflowing and hitting the riversides with great might. This Leo was a still pond, a moment of calm before disaster struck.

Nico grunted. He was going to have to dig deeper for examples - examples he wasn't keen on discussing. Ones buried in the depths of his mind, concealed under layers and layers of coping mechanisms.

"Well, I also dated a guy last year." Leo blinked. He didn't know that. "And things were great, but we didn't work out. We both realized this together and accepted it, because life is like that sometimes." Nico's words were awkward and clunky, like he was forcing the words out of their hiding place.

"Why not?" Two words, yet so many answers could be attributed to that.

"I guess we were just...different," Nico said carefully. "I wasn't the most healthy mentally, and I wasn't really confident in being out. He was training to be a doctor and he kept talking about fixing me and it made me uncomfortable. Like I was his pet project or something."

"Gross."

Nico chuckled, the sound tasting of dark chocolate. "I mean, he wasn't a bad guy or anything," Nico quickly clarified. "He had good intentions, and I still hold fond memories - it was my first relationship, after all. He helped me through a lot, but ultimately, we would have gone different paths in life. We still talk sometimes. Rarely. But we do."

Leo smiled, leaning back in the car seat. "That's good. You're very mature, Nico."

Nico bit his cheek. "I guess I just grew up too fast in some regards. Lost my mother, then my sister, and then I just had to be an adult." Nico sighed. "I wish I could have had a normal childhood."

"I feel that," Leo said. "But hey, it's good to be a kid sometimes. Don't be afraid to act your age. It's never too late to catch up on your childhood."

Nico reached over the center console and wrapped his arms around Leo awkwardly. Leo flinched, surprised Nico was initiating physical content. He turned into Nico's body, slotting his body against Nico and resting his head in the crook of Nico's neck. He relaxed into Nico's arms, avoiding the way the cupholder dug into his stomach.

"How about we get Burger King after this?" Leo whispered into Nico's ear.

Leo could feel goosebumps form on Nico's skin. _Electrifying_.

"Okay," Nico said, pulling away from Leo.

His face was red.

...

Surprisingly, Leo found himself forgetting about Callie pretty quickly.

As the days went by, he didn't even really think about her much. His thoughts were on the new Pokemon movie and cars and school and other more important things. During work, he would just go on autopilot, thinking about what he'd get his friends for Christmas or whether or not that dimple on Nico's left cheek was always there.

November passed by like a blur. Orange leaves died off, the temperature dropped heavily, and shipments of Christmas movies would arrive at the Blockbuster out of nowhere. On top of that, the pressure was on for scoring well on midterms and getting good grades for the semester.

Leo couldn't focus on some lecture or sit there and take notes - it wasn't how he learned best. However, the teachers all _expected_ him to learn that way. He couldn't retain information well because of how they taught and it managed to frustrate even the nicest of his teachers.

All of the teachers would call Leo 'lazy' or 'stupid' just because he wasn't the best at focusing in class or learning in the way they wanted to. It wasn't his fault, his brain was just wired differently, especially with the presence of his ADHD and dyslexia. But teachers didn't care about that.

"Get your grades up, Valdez, or I'm…"

"You have a lot of potential..."

"...troubles at home…"

"We're looking into possible tutors…"

"If you don't get at least a…"

"...I'm going to have to…"

Their voices overlaid and melded together in his head until all he could think about was how badly he was doing.

Fortunately, his friends noticed, and ended up stepping in to help him clean up his act a bit.

Eventually, movie nights became study sessions after it was clear everyone needed the extra help - especially Nico and Leo, who had work _and_ school and thus struggled to keep up with their homework. All four of them (and sometimes even Thalia and Reyna) would sprawl out on the floor of Jason's basement and cram for tests and complain about their work.

They all struggled with different subjects and all had different learning styles. Jason was the kind to have meticulously color-coded notes, Leo was more for hands-on stuff, Nico was good at memorization, and Piper had to talk about the subject with someone else just to understand it.

They would tutor each other in little groups and explain to each other subjects they barely understood. Piper was somehow naturally good at French but didn't understand any of the conjugations, making her lessons especially confusing.

Even though Leo was failing the most classes by far, he wasn't a complete liability - he was great at teaching math and Spanish. "Come on, Jason. You don't even have to have stellar pronunciation." He shuffled the flash cards in his hands.

"Um, estar de vacaciones, means to go on vacation." Jason pronounced 'de' as 'day', but Leo was too good of a sport to mock him.

"Nice one, Jace!"

Surprisingly, Nico ended up being the best tutor. He was decent in nearly every subject, understood everyone's teaching styles, and was level-headed enough to teach even the most stubborn of students (Leo).

"Leo, your essay sucks."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your introduction paragraph reads, 'The War of 1812, which took place in the year 1812, had adverse effects on the world. The War of 1812 was mostly fought in the U.S. (the United States of America), in the year 1812 particularly. I consider this the main reason the War of 1812 was named the War of 1812, although there might have been other reasons as to why the War of 1812 was named the War of 1812.'"

"So?"

Even with Leo's stubbornness, Nico managed to get certain concepts through his head - ones Leo thought he was broken for not understanding properly. "It's like, Pokemon. Repeating your points like that when you need to fill out the word count isn't very effective, but expanding and creating new talking points is more effective."

"How do I do that more easily?" Leo was eager to learn when the things he was supposed to be learning flowed from Nico's lips.

"Read out your essay and compare it to the facts, then try to add onto the points you made instead of stretching them thin."

"Oh! I can do that. I just need to work part-by-part."

"Like a machine," Nico ventured.

"Like a machine," Leo repeated.

Nico felt an odd sense of pride when Leo ended up with an A- on the essay.

School was putting everyone on edge. For Jason, Piper, and Leo, it was junior year, which meant thinking about _college_ and _careers_ and the _SAT_. All of it was stressing Leo out especially- he didn't know if he wanted to seek higher education or go right into working or what. Times like this made him ache for his mother.

What he would give to just be able to ask his mom for advice. She had first-hand experience, as she was a college grad herself. More than that though, his mother always knew what to say, what would comfort him. She'd joke around with him and explain everything the way he would understand it and it would all just make _sense_.

At least Leo wasn't the only one who was confused on what he was going to do in life.

Surprisingly, _Jason_ was just as unsure as he was. Piper was dead-set on being an environmentalist and Nico was just a sophomore so it wasn't as impertinent to him yet.

But Jason, who always seemed so stable, didn't know what he was doing in life either.

"I'm just not really that interested in any of the choices," Jason said, running his hands along the seams of the couch absentmindedly. Piper and Nico were preoccupied playing a game of Mario Kart together. Somehow, during their lesson, they (Piper) managed to convince Jason and Leo that Mario Kart would help her with physics.

Leo hummed along. "I get that as well." He groaned in frustration. "All these stupid teachers acting like it's the end-all be-all...we're still just sixteen! We're kids! We're supposed to mess around and shit, not stress about the future. It's only Junior year, for fuck's sake."

Jason took off his glasses, rubbing them with his shirt. "I feel you," Jason muttered. "I mean, I'm sure I'll get _into_ a college. I have a fund set up, and I'm class president and in Honor Society, so I bet they'll eat that up," Jason acknowledged. "But I don't know what I want to major in."

"I don't even know if going into college would be a good idea," Leo said. "'M family isn't the most well off…" he muttered, embarrassed at the fact. "So I could be putting myself in debt just to go somewhere I don't wanna go."

Jason smiled. "Glad we're in the same boat." He sighed, leaning into Leo's side. "Maybe we could try working a job first? Have an apartment together?"

The word 'we' made Leo's heart soar. "Are you and her gonna move in together?" He was careful to make sure Piper wasn't listening, just in case.

Jason let out a gust of air. "I don't know if I wanna start discussing that. What if she thinks I'm too weird for thinking so far in the future? We could break up or something, too."

"Wow, optimistic much?" Leo chuckled. "I definitely want us all to keep living in the same city, though."

Jason nodded. "I love you, man. We gotta stick together." He stuck out his fist.

"I'd say bros before hoes, but that's rude and Piper is my bro as well." Leo accepted his fist bump and smiled. "What are you considering? I think mechanical engineering, like my mom, would be awesome, but I also don't do well with cramming and stuff."

"Dude, I don't know. But I'm sure we'll figure it out together."

"We always do."

 _Together_.

It was the little moments like this, the feeling of belonging, the sense that people actually liked you, the rare stability in life, that made Leo happy.


	11. Airborne

"This is so boring," Leo mumbled. "We've been reviewing for forever now."

Nico's bed was overrun with books, papers, and various writing utensils. Leo sat on the right side, a worksheet firmly clamped to a clipboard. Nico sat on the right, nursing a headache and a book. "I know, Leo."

"Can't we have a break?" he moaned, running his pencil along his textbook.

Nico flipped through his own book. "Not until you finish the review packet."

"Lame."

"Do you wanna fail World History?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"I'd be in the same grade as you. Then I could just cheat off of you!" Leo beamed.

"It's already pathetic enough that you're being tutored by a sophomore," Nico snorted. "Do you want to graduate late as well?"

Leo grabbed his chest in mock pain. "Nico! Did you really have to come for me like that?"

Nico elbowed him. "Oh, go do your work." Leo mumbled something about how he was 'almost done anyway' and shot his eyes back to his paper.

Something about the way they were studying made it hard for Leo to focus. Maybe it was because Nico's bed was so comfortable it made him sleepy, or it was the way Nico's cold arms were digging into his sides, but Leo just couldn't seem to remember any of the important dates he was supposed to.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this," Leo groaned, tossing his pencil down. Nico straightened his back and turned to face Leo. "I need a break."

Nico checked the time on his alarm clock and slowly nodded. "We have been working for a while now. It won't hurt us."

There it was again. That 'us'. Leo grinned before taking a second and toning his smile down a notch. Only weirdos got overly excited over shit like that.

"I have snacks." Leo leaned across Nico's torso and grabbed his bag from the ground, zipping it open and fishing through the contents. He pulled out a bag of Hot Cheetos and some sour candy from work. "Here ya' go."

Nico took the sour candy. "I've kinda been having bad dreams lately," he said after a moment of silence. Nico wasn't one to open up easily, so Leo took this seriously.

"I'm no stranger to those," Leo sympathised. "About what?"

"Bianca. My sister, if you remember." Leo slowly nodded in recognition. "It's not that bad, I just don't like reminders of her that much since it _hurts_. She died around this time of year, and..." Nico pulled his knees to his chest and let his voice trail off.

"Hey," Leo said softly. "I get what you mean." He carefully set a hand on Nico's knee.

"I still blame myself. For her death."

Leo vehemently shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Nico." The kid had a lot of internalized self-hatred - Leo would know, he had the same problem.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you, Nico," Leo said. "I know you like to be stupid and blame yourself for shit out of your control." He traced his thumb against Nico's kneecap, making little swirls against clothed skin.

Nico's chest tightened. He continued to speak after a second, lowering his knees to shake off Leo's hand. "You're one to talk."

Leo winced. Nico had a habit of leaving him speechless in as little words as possible. "I… yeah," he admitted, tongue clumsy in his mouth as he spoke.

The side of Nico's mouth quirked up a little. He reached out a cold hand and interlocked his hand with Leo's. Leo looked up in surprise and mirrored Nico's almost-smile. "We can stop doing that together, then."

The way Nico stared up at him with dark eyes and a little smile made Leo's mouth go dry. The moment made him feel vulnerable. He felt smaller as he sat beside Nico. "Can I tell you how my mother died?" Leo's voice was hushed to a whisper. He was afraid his voice would crack if he made it any louder.

"If you're comfortable with that." Good old Nico, with his simple words and his cold fingers.

Leo used his free hand to muss up his hair anxiously. This was a story he didn't like to recall, a story he had kept tucked away in the deepest labyrinth of his brain, one he had only ever spoken about to Piper and Jason once- and even then, Leo was too much of a coward to give details.

The way Nico's hand wrapped around his made Leo a little bit braver.

"So, my mom was a mechanic."

He began to explain the story from the very start, explaining who Tia Callieda was and what his life was like growing up. Leo struggled to keep his voice as neutral as possible as he talked, as he retold his most painful memories. Nico was a good listener, nodding encouragingly and staying silent.

He didn't even need to stop to think about his words. Leo knew the story inside-out. Maybe he didn't repeat it aloud often, but it was ingrained in his memory, replayed on the worst of days and duplicated in the dreams that plagued his being.

His grip on Nico tightened as he continued. Occasionally, Nico would squeeze his hand. Leo found it comforting.

Leo found his voice growing tighter and tighter. He kept speaking regardless of the way his stomach churned uncomfortably.

"I was eight when she died." This was the worst part of the story, the bit that kept him tossing and turning in the night, the one that hurt the most to remember. "We were - we were working in the shop, like normal. Nobody else was there except for Callieda."

Nico tried to smile encouragingly. Leo appreciated the sentiment and smiled back, weakly.

"There were a lot of candles around. We weren't allowed to use the electric lights when staying late. I don't remember why Callieda was there," he sighed. A lot of the finer details had been lost in his brain's attempt to lose the memory. "It was a blur. I remembered the lock of a door. The toppling of a candle. A growing fire. Smoke."

Leo shivered a bit, his face set in a grimace. He kept talking regardless- he needed to finish. "I made it. My mom didn't."

Nico was quick to bring Leo into a hug. All previous bits of physical contact they had was preceded by reluctance. But in the moment, all hesitation was lost.

Leo wrapped his arms around Nico, hooking his chin on his shoulder and clutching tightly to his friend, letting out a strangled sob. Nico rubbed circles onto Leo's back. "Thank you for telling me, Leo."

Leo inhaled sharply, breathing in Nico's scent, feeling his heart rate slow in the moment. A weight was lifted off his shoulders: the information that had burdened him for years was released. Leo closed his eyes, enjoying the comfort of Nico's arms and allowing his body to relax, his shoulders dropping and his breathing slowing.

"Thank you for listening," he said, like he had finished delivering a speech or something. Leo didn't dwell on his stupid word choice though, and luckily, Nico hadn't made a snide remark on that.

Eventually, they broke away from each other, sharing soft smiles. "I guess we should get back to work now?" Nico said, picking up his pencil. His ears were pink. Leo nodded, mirroring Nico and leaning back on the bed.

...

The last day of school before winter break was always hectic.

Teachers gave easy assignments and breathed collective sighs of relief over the break they were getting. Students gave out Christmas presents and made plans for parties. Leo was honestly just glad midterms had finished a week ago. Results would be in sometime before the end of Winter Break, something that made Leo nervous as hell.

"Sooooo glad school is over," Piper lamented, jumping and touching one of the overhead beams as she walked. Students were squeezed together in the halls, packed from end to end like sardines. Nico muttered an apology as his foot grazed the edge of someone else's shoe.

Leo grunted, his hand clasped around the handle on Nico's backpack. Nico's stature made him pretty noticeable among the crowd, allowing a direct path to form from behind him. "Yup. I hope there's not a crowd at Blockbuster." They were still on shift. A solid ten minutes of groveling at Sarah's feet meant nothing, apparently. Their attempts to get time off fell on deaf ears.

Jason frowned, stopping in his path. A senior slammed into his backpack. She scowled and flipped him off, something Jason paid no regard to. Piper raised an eyebrow and tugged on his hand. "What's wrong, Jace?"

"Student council meeting."

Leo groaned. "Whatever. Go to your stupid meeting." He waved to Jason half heartedly and kept following Nico, who hadn't slowed his walking pace any. Piper shrugged and kissed Jason's cheek, trailing the two other boys before she was left behind.

Jason watched them walk away. He could feel a wave of complete despair wash over him. It wasn't that deep, no, Jason could admit that.

But it was still a tether to his old life, a reminder that to most, he was just a pawn. Jason didn't want to do it, no matter how insignificant the student council was or wasn't. No matter what, though, he found himself attending the meetings anyway.

…

Seasonal depression didn't really hit Leo that year.

Usually, when the seasons shifted and Leo was rooted in place and everyone else was moving and the weather was cold and sharp and unforgiving, he was unmotivated and sorrowful.

Leo wasn't alone that year, though. And he had things to do. Like, make christmas presents and...Work.

Working during the holiday season was quite possibly the Worst Thing Ever. Leo showed up to work every day with a blue sweatshirt over his polo and a frown etched on his face.

Unfortunately though, Sarah liked to play fun Christmas songs (which was almost nice until Nico and Leo realized there were only twelve songs on the CD she was playing, and one could only listen to _The Twelve Days of Christmas_ so many times before getting sick of it). Neither of them were devout Christians, either, so it made listening to the particularly religious nuts who criticized their decor particularly unbearable.

"Jesus is the reason for the season," a middle-aged man said. "Not all this - this _bullshit_." He seemed rather offended by the little reindeer figurine on the counter by Nico's area.

"Sir, please just take your copy of _The Haunting_ , there's a line behind you." Nico was polite and firm.

"Great job, coworker!" Leo praised.

"Oh my god."

"Using the Lord's name in vain, are we?"

The middle-aged man ended up presenting Leo with a firm twenty-dollar bill and a hearty pat on the back and Nico had given Leo a healthy glare after that.

But the majority of their days were spent at work, since Winter Break meant 'take advantage of your dumb high school employees'.

A part of Leo loved spending the time with Nico, though. The ends of their shifts spent closing the store felt the most magical.

"It's _snowing_."

Leo arched an eyebrow. "I can see that." He balanced his chin on his mop, carrying a gaze towards Nico. His eyes were glossy and wide, a copy-pasted picture of child-like wonder. Leo wondered if he got to look like this as a kid much. The store was closed and quiet, with only the hum of the heater and the sounds of their voices.

Nico approached the big windows at the front of the store, with the same gleam in his eyes. His breath fogged the glass. Leo watched him glance through the glass, flicks of white fluttering through the air and settling on freshly-made hills. Leo sighed. "Let's go outside."

The look on Nico's face made Leo's extra-long unpaid overtime worth it.

…

"I'm too Texan for snow!"

"Pussy."

"What did you just - Ow!" Leo flinched. Nico had beaned him square in the side of the head. His ear felt like it was going to snap off from the cold. Leo glared back and plucked up a sloppy handful of snow, flinging it towards Nico. The precipitate flickered off his front comically. Nico grinned toothily and scooped up a handful, artfully crafting a snowball in his palms.

Leo curled his lip and began to do the same, pulling the sleeves of his sweater over his hands and spinning the snow around. His technique was half as efficient as Nico's, and the wasted time left him with an avalanche of snow on his hair. "Boo."

Leo nearly dropped his snowball in surprise, shivers dancing down his spine as Nico's laugh reverberated into his ear. Immediately, he pivoted in place and grabbed Nico by the wrist, holding him firmly in his grasp and clutching onto the snowball in his left hand, the snow melting into the sleeves of his sweater. "What are you doing?" Nico asked, yanking his arm fruitlessly.

"Boo," Leo whispered back, smashing the snow into Nico's face and laughing, right in his bubble. Nico was illuminated under the streetlamp, bits of winter clinging to pink cheeks.

The small fleck of gold in Nico's right eye caught Leo off-guard, and Nico used the opportunity to escape his grasp and fling him into the snowbank below. Leo blinked. "Oof!" He winced, rubbing the side of his back long enough for Nico to run off into the distance. Something about Nico looked more confident: he wasn't blending into the shadows, he was a star amongst the dark, a picture of the night fluttering off the sky and being _personified_ as Nico di Angelo.

"Catch you later, Valdez!" He called out from across the parking lot. _Valdez_. Leo's heart leapt as he sprung up, the wind rushing against his cheeks and freezing his body but his chest was on fire, ignited in the heat of the moment. Spindly legs sped through the snow, footprints ghosting his path. Nico stuck his tongue out and continued to run, tripping over his own feet and nearly falling but catching himself with that same weird, subconscious grace he always possessed.

Nico weaved around the parking lot, darting through the darkness and hopping over rocks and _living_ , running relentlessly in this impromptu game of chase. "I thought you'd be better at this," Nico called out, catching his breath.

"You had a headstart, unfair," Leo yelled back, a faint figure. "I can see you, hey!" Nico could make out his silhouette, waving his arms maniacally and hopping up and down.

"Hey," Nico replied, and then he was skittering off because this was his _game_ and Leo was merely playing in it. His feet moved rhythmically, slosh seeping through the canvas of his converse as he ran faster than he had ever run before.. The rush of the wind filled his ears. He looked to the side. Right by the _Toyota._ Adrenaline couldn't last forever, and Nico's legs were beginning to ache. He'd be fine, Leo wasn't even in sight -

"Boo!" A muffled shout, a hand around his ankle, the sensation of falling and hitting snow, and the taste of.

Defeat.

Leo cackled, slowly inching himself from under Nico's Toyota Corolla. "Gotchu good, didn't I?" He leaned against the car suavely.

"How did you fit under there?" Nico asked, breathless and staring up at Leo in amazement.

Leo gave a finger gun. "Practically _grew up under there_ , chico."

"My dad bought me this car last year, and it was made in '96." Leo snickered, nudging Nico with the point of his toe.

"Just an expression." Leo smiled, a charming gleam of white free of malice, and extended a hand to Nico.

Nico feigned an appreciative smile and took his hand before grinning evilly and pulling Leo down with him. "Ah!" Leo seemed just as caught off guard as expected, landing on top of Nico and knocking the air out of him, his laugh reverberating against Nico's body. His mere presence warmed him, even though it was thirty degrees out and both of them should have been cold by all accounts.

"I taught you well, man," Leo mumbled against Nico's ear, resting his chin in the crook of Nico's shoulder and grazing his breath against his neck.

The position was strange and the way Leo was breathlessly speaking was even weirder, but Nico did not protest and instead opted to wrap his arms around Leo's torso. His breath was short, and he could feel Leo's chest expand and deflate, a steady beat.

They stayed there, silent and warm and snowed-on for longer than they probably should have. Leo should have shot up and laughed and anyway it was cold out, staying nestled there was stupid and dumb and also there was also a mild scent of cinnamon lingering on Leo that he had never smelled before.

After what was probably a couple minutes but felt like eternity, Nico's grip loosened and Leo sighed against Nico's goosebumped skin and sat up, holding his position of being sat on Nico's thighs for a singular excruciating second and stood up, brushing the snow off of his front and smiling down at the person he had just been pressed against. "We should go home. You're looking blue."

…

Winter break came and went.

Their Christmas extravaganza was held at Piper's house, in her hillside mansion. Tristan McLean forgoed his usual partying tradition and, to the chagrin of Piper, was spending ages planning a Christmas party for them.

"I mean, how lame is my dad?" Piper scoffed, perched on the counter of the Blockbuster. She kicked her roller-skate-clad feet against the sides of the counter, content to listen to the little noises it made. Leo winced with every single _thud!,_ knowing how long it would take for him to clean her heel marks. "I told him he was allowed to go get drunk with _whatever_ A-Lister he decided to be interested in, and this man said no!"

Nico hummed and spun in his chair, shaggy black hair clouding his eyes. He was sick of the holidays. Jason, ever optimistic, shrugged. "I mean, it's kind of nice, right?"

"Yeah, and I finally get to meet Tristan McLean!" Leo exclaimed, scanning up a customer's DVD. "Well, I met him freshman year, but I -"

"You fainted. Yeah, I was there," Piper grumbled. "You knocked over my Coke!" The woman Leo was serving looked scandalized.

"I did, didn't I?" he replied airly, returning the DVD and smirking. "So, when is his Christmas party?"

Piper smacked her forehead. "When do you think?"

Leo's brain appeared to be malfunctioning, so Jason changed the subject.

The party was decent. Tristan McLean was nice, if distracted. Leo regaled a tale to Piper's father about how he snuck into the theatre forty times in order to rewatch the segment during _Simple Words_ in which Tristan was shirtless. Nico went to the bathroom halfway through and got lost in Piper's mansion for half an hour. Jason told Piper he had spiked the punch and she feigned drunkenness before he admitted it was a lie. Drew even came over and dropped off _flip phones_ for everyone.

"Drew…" Leo mumbled. "You really… you don't have to -"

"Don't worry, loser," Drew said, flipping her hair and smiling. "My mom knows a guy."

Nico grinned brightly when he unwrapped Leo's gift, a metal-worked Pokemon deck holder. "Thanks."

"For…" Leo was struggling to swallow his saliva. "For when you want to be a kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bitch we almsot donwe!!
> 
> i decided to condense some chapters, so there's only 1more


	12. Pleasantville

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it

...

A new ray of spring-time sunshine streamed through the window, illuminating the kitchen in sunlight. Leo could see every little mote of dust in the room, watching as they flitted around Nico like little fairies. Fitting, considering how ethereal Nico looked. Seriously, it should have been _illegal_ for him to look that good under direct sunlight.

Nico favored darker areas, little corners of the world that went forgotten. He was always so quick to move, like he subconsciously didn't want anyone to look at him long enough to remember. In the sunlight, Leo could note every single beauty mark Nico had.

Leo scanned Nico, memorizing this moment, locking it away, because he never wanted to forget any facet of Nico. He drank him in, appreciating the way his eyes glinted golden brown and how his seemingly black hair had the slightest brown undertone. His lips were perfectly full and slightly pink. Time seemed to slow as Leo leaned in, almost completely unaware of his movements, like Nico's presence was so hypnotizing it was forcing him to do this.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked, looking quizzically at Leo.

The moment dissipated, and Leo did not know what had come over him. His right hand was still on the counter, he was leaning over awkwardly, and the fact that no kiss had come of it made his stance look strange, like a hump-backed witch or something. "You look funny. There's something in your hair," he dismissed, plucking an invisible crumb from Nico's inky hair and flicking it aside.

Nico gave an uncomfortable half-smile. "I look funny?"

The answer was _no_ , Leo wanted to shout, because Nico looked anything _but_ funny. He was radiant in the sunlight, ethereal. He shut his eyes.

Leo took a deep breath. The moment was gone now, the sunlight had diverted itself away from Nico, and it was just another completely platonic time with his best friend, Nico.

Because _best friends_ thought about kissing one another in the sunlight. _Best friends_ used poetic terms to describe their eyes. Nothing beats cuddling with your homies, right?

The microwave went off, offering Leo a save from his intrepid thoughts. "Yeah, but you look alright now," Leo bridged, reaching for the microwave at the exact second Nico did.

They brushed fingers for a split second. Electricity ran its course throughout Leo's body, his hairs standing on edge from one singular touch. Leo's hand jerked back, like he was actually struck by lightning. "Sorry." He let out an awkward laugh, loud and strange in his mouth. "We should - we should get back to the others."

Nico's lip curled. He pried open the microwave and placed the bag on the stove below it, pouring it into a cereal bowl. Wordlessly he shook the last bits into the bowl, watching half-popped pieces tumble onto the rest of the popcorn, glancing off the side of the bowl and onto the stove.

Nico watched Leo out of the corner of his eye. He was staring at Nico out of the corner of _his_ eye, and suddenly they made eye contact. Leo froze and turned on his heel, grabbing the bowl of popcorn and marching off to Jason's basement. Nico blinked and followed, not sure of what he did wrong.

…

Leo really _could not_ stand being around Nico any longer.

There were a number of reasons for that. One, it was downright painful to be in the same proximity of Nico because he would get lost in his eyes and then think about how they could never be together and then he would make a stupid joke to deflect and then things would become awkward. Again.

Two, something about Nico's spring clothes was adorable. He had an aviator jacket that he would sometimes wear. Leo has asked about it and Nico had shown him a picture of him as a ten-year-old, drowning in the thing. He was a small boy, with rosy cheeks and gleaming eyes. Leo could see that exact expression in his mind's eye: a late-night snowball fight, an unwrapping of a Burger King toy, a long stare.

Leo decided not to dwell on That Expression.

Luckily, he had other things to involve himself in.

With no school to focus on and a determination to _not_ focus on Nico, Leo found himself excelling in work. His sale margin had increased by 20%. He used all the film knowledge he had garnered from years of movie night and recommended movie after movie. Leo was efficient with his tactics. He'd spend his breaks setting out the new releases and sorting through the return box and thinking of new things to say to customers.

He cleaned out the bathrooms, head-to-toe. Every bit of graffiti, every suspicious wad of paper, all of it. Leo did it all absentmindedly, running on autopilot as he cleaned. He even dusted the shelves and wiped the counters and organized the register. He kept note of the late-fees. One of his coworkers put a sci-fi movie in the horror section and Leo flipped his shit.

" _How can you be so fucking irresponsible, Ralph?" he had yelled. "Does this look like a horror movie to you?"_

_Leo shook the case in his face. Ralph was a burnt out college kid three years his senior but he still trembled. "N-no, sir."_

" _Do better next time."_

Leo went home with a dry voice and fatigued hands.

He didn't rest. He was staying late to clean every speck of dust, hosing off the dumpsters, sending out angry emails to late-fee holders - anything to keep him busy.

His hard work didn't go unnoticed.

" _I'm proud to introduce our employee of the month for April!" Sarah called out. Leo had begrudgingly come to watch the little ceremony, hands itching to get back to work. "Everyone give a big round of applause to Leo Valdez!"_

_Leo, stunned, was shooed into the back to get photographed. He might have only won a small bag of sour candy, but it truly meant a lot._

Leo remembered that Nico had given him a small congratulations and an offer for a ride home that he pretended not to hear.

It was easy to forget about your own feelings. It was simple to run away and distance yourself and ignore hints of longing or the sadness in Nico's eyes. Leaving was the one thing Leo could get right every time.

…

Leo leaned back in a plush beanbag chair, staring up at the ceiling. His knees were bent slightly, socked feet firmly pressed to the carpet. Drew was right beside him, playing Snake on her Nokia 8210 but not really paying attention to it. She was lounging in an inflatable pink chair, legs crossed by the ankles. They weren't talking, merely sitting side-by-side and looking at things that didn't matter.

Drew sighed, tossing her cell phone across the room, huffing and resting her chin on her palm. She stared at Leo pensively. "Why are you _really_ hanging out with me?"

"What do you mean?" Leo asked. He was still staring up at the ceiling, glancing at a lone glow-in-the-dark star lingering in the corner of her room. There were once a couple dozen different stars on the ceiling, probably. Drew had a childhood, just like him, but only one star had lingered, the only one that had stayed sticky through the years.

"Cut the bullshit," she scoffed. "You can't tell me you _actually_ want to talk to me. You have Nico and Jason and Piper."

Leo's lip puckered and his brows furrowed. "I don't hate you, Drew."

"You have every reason to, though," she shot back, flipping her hair behind her back and tucking her legs to her chest.

Leo shrugged. "I mean, do I? So what if you were kind of mean to me. It's high school. Life doesn't matter and I don't care about being caught up in the past, especially something as inconsequential as this."

Drew blinked, taking in his statement before rolling her eyes. "Like, what is _up_ with the existentialism." She folded her arms and unfolded her legs mechanically. "You're in a weird-ass mood."

Leo grunted. "I guess I had an epiphany."

Silence.

Then, Leo made a sharp inhale and threw out a new question. "What was it like?" he asked. Honestly. Leo gave a sideways glance back at Drew, clad in red track pants and a black tube top. Despite the fact that it was January and also a Sunday, she had a full face of makeup and a nice outfit on. A couple of months ago, Leo would have assumed she was trying to impress someone, but now, Leo knew Drew just did this because she wanted to.

"What was _what_ like?" Drew asked. "I swear, Piper does this too, this weird game of subtext. Like, what the fuck? Just tell me straight up." She threw her hands up, dainty and painted white like always, contrasting against eastern asian skin.

Leo snapped his neck back to normal, focusing his gaze instead on a poster of Leonardo diCaprio. "The Verbs. Dash and Dawn. What were they like?"

Drew laughed, slapping her palm onto the plastic of her chair. "Not the Verbs! God, I fucking -" she snorted. "- such a stupid name. Fuck Jeremy Canalave for making the connection between our names."

Leo smiled a little bit, shifting his way to a bulletin board littered with photos. A picture of a young Drew and her father, whose face was serious and strong. Most of the other ones were pictures of her and her friends. There were a few that looked like family photos with cousins, but other than that, the rest were nondescript.

"What were they like?" he repeated.

Since he met Nico, he had gotten better at identifying _that look_ , the concealed sadness hidden behind people's eyes. In every single picture that involved a Verb, Drew had that look, the slightest hint of sadness and the smiles too sharp to look natural.

"They weren't that bad," Drew said, quietly.

Leo glanced up to a photo in the center of her bulletin board. You could see other photos peeking out from below it, like Drew had pinned this photo over other ones, like _this memory_ was the most important one.

Christmas time.

Leo could spot himself second from the right, one arm around a disgruntled Nico and his other arm reaching up to give Jason bunny ears. Piper was in the center, smiling wildly to the right of Jason. Next to Piper was Drew.

Drew wasn't in the center of the photo. She wasn't drawing attention to herself, she wasn't even wearing anything more than a simple white dress. But there was an unmistakable look in her eyes, a genuine smile. Her eyes squinted awkwardly. She was caught off guard, unmasked. _But she was happy_.

"Are we better?"

Drew laughed forcefully. "Again, the subtext game. Who is 'we'?"

Leo gave a penetrating glance. "You know who."

"Well!" Drew said, face flushed. "I'm not the _only_ one who can play at this. What's with you and him?"

Leo furrowed his brow, pulling at his fingers. "Who?"

A red smile. "Not so fun when you're playing, huh?"

"Well, I'm sorry for playing the 'subtext game', or whatever," Leo huffed. "Please enlighten me, Drew, bearer of all knowledge."

Drew scoffed but did not protest the mocking title Leo had given her. "Nico."

One word and Leo had recoiled. Drew's weapon was her words, her eye for honing in on flaws. "I'm not stupid. I saw you acting weird around him," she said, doubling up on her verbal assault.

Leo shrugged and avoided her eyes. "I dunno."

"Maybe you should pull your head out of your ass and figure it out."

"There is no head-ass related anything!" Leo protested. "So I was slightly awkward one time. I'm not like, buggin' out or something over this."

Drew frowned. "So you agree. There is a _something_ with you and Nico."

"Love is complicated and shit. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even _want to_ know. What I'm feeling will pass." Leo winced. "I thought you would agree."

"I do," Drew nodded. "I don't think I've ever, or will ever, love anyone," Drew said. She tilted her head towards the window, looked out on the expensive houses that lined her street, the leafless tree that sat outside of her window. "Genuinely."

"For real?"

"For real."

...

"We haven't done this in a while," Leo chuckled awkwardly, rooting through the bag of Burger King and pulling out his usual order. He averted Nico's eyes, set on scarfing his meal down and leaving as soon as he had the opportunity to. He chose to remain ignorant towards the dark eyes boring into the back of his head.

"That's 'cause you've been avoiding me." Strict. Sharp. To the point. Nico didn't beat around the bush. He was direct with his words, a new development due to his increased confidence. Leo sighed, filing through his mind to apply the least half-assed excuse he could think of.

"I've been busy, Nico. You know that." He gave a weak smile. "Let's just enjoy our lunch. Thanks for buying, by the way." If Nico wanted to call Leo out on his bullshit, he didn't. Instead, he unwrapped his own burger, pale hands unraveling the plastic, fixating on the movements too much. Leo wondered what was running through his mind.

Nico flicked a fry into his mouth, chewing methodically before speaking. "I thought we were done with using humor as a mask."

One sentence and Leo was dead. Deceased. If Nico's words were a Pokemon move, they would be Fissure, an earth-shattering move that was guaranteed to knock out the opposing Pokemon in one hit.

"Tell me what's really going on, Leo. Please." His words on their own were a suggestion, but with Nico's tone, it was more like a command. "You promised that if something was wrong, you'd tell me."

Leo couldn't run anymore. He was rooted in place. All that running had caught up to him. The cycle had snapped, leaving Leo with whiplash. Nico was staring at him, large dark eyes framed with thick bottom lashes. He looked so concerned, his burger left by the wayside and his cheeks dusted pink.

"I…Can't put it into words." Leo's eyes rested on Nico's mouth.

"Please try." Nico swept his tongue along his lips subconsciously. Leo's eyes followed the movement. Nico's lips gleamed tantalizingly, all full and mauve-colored and inviting.

Leo made a noise of frustration. Fuck it. He might not have been able to translate his thoughts into words, but he sure as hell could express them.

He leaned into Nico, lips parted, closing the distance between them in an instant. Nico hesitated and kissed back, a soft, chaste brush of lips that made Leo feel as though he was both drowning and burning, like fireworks and dusty VHS tapes. He felt like soaring doves and burnt incense and breathless laughter. He was on top of the world because he was kissing Nico.

Mistletoe-related desires and fruitless what-if scenarios and shameful dreams were nothing compared to the brief moment they were sharing, a single kiss that had lit up Leo's heart in a controlled set of explosive fireworks.

The salt of french fries lingered on Nico's lips, a taste that should have been unpleasant or off-putting, but was it the most intoxicating flavor Leo had ever had. He resisted the urge to grin against his partner's lips, opting to live in the moment and savor the sensation, a droplet of water in the desert.

Caught in the moment, he wrapped his hands around Nico's back sturdily, supporting him and deepening the kiss at the same time. Nico's eyes fluttered open, and he was seemingly brought back to reality.

Nico pulled away from the kiss suddenly, the movement so fast and unexpected Leo was left kissing the air for a few seconds before realizing. He surveyed Nico's face, his freckled face ignited in pink. Nico's eyes were downcast, but Leo noted that his pupils were so blown they were almost completely black. Leo didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," he said automatically.

_You made him uncomfortable. You ruined the friendship. He hates you. You're a terrible person. Get up and run away. You're going to make things worse. You fucking dumbass. Leave. Leave. Leave._

Leo looked at Nico's low gaze for a split second.

He stayed seated, grounding himself to the ground and breathing as evenly as possible. A torrent of emotions raged through his mind, a breached dam. The blood was churning in his ears, overpowering his hearing, chaotic waves fighting in his head, crashing and crashing and crashing.

Nico placed a finger to Leo's lips to silence him. A lifeboat. Involuntarily, Leo shivered, goosebumps dancing across his skin. One touch and Leo was a mess. "I liked the kiss," Nico said simply. He dragged his finger away from Leo's mouth and sighed.

"I liked it too. I like you too." Leo felt stupid just saying the words. Ever so eloquent, he was. What was he even supposed to say? He was still lightheaded from the euphoria of kissing Nico. Kissing Nico. That was something Leo could say he had done. Nico was chewing on his bottom lip. "Do you...do you maybe want to try going out sometime? Like, a date?" Leo took the plunge.

His voice was quivery and awkward. God, was this middle school? He was Leo Valdez, for fucks sake. He wasn't some blush-y schoolkid. He tilted his head and smiled up at Nico, in a way he hoped was reassuring. Leo was getting antsy. Nico was silent. Did he misjudge? Was this a bad time? He felt his hands shake anxiously on their own accord, his stomach filled with delirious butterflies that fluttered erratically in his torso.

"I'm not sure if that would be a good idea."

There it was.

Leo could feel his face burn, his stomach drop, his chest tighten. His mouth was dry, his lungs empty.

Rejection was nothing new to Leo. He would get a new crush on a new person who was out of his league, and then his heart would get stomped on and the cycle would continue. Except. Except this was even worse. This was worse than every other heartbreak that had consumed him before, because it was Nico who was breaking his heart.

Leo swallowed his thoughts down and answered. "Oh." His tongue was clumsy, like it was swelling too large to fit in his mouth. His words were clunky, a prototype of the machine they had the potential of becoming. He couldn't think, but there were a million thoughts flowing through the river of his mind at once. They ejected into oceans of information, crashing against the cliffs of his common sense, flooding his mind, and yet his mouth was a parched desert, the memory of Nico's lips evaporating.

"I like you too." A bit of hope, a rickety life ring in the middle of high tide. He could feel an anchor, the soft and strong grip of Nico's hand wrapping around his, grounding his mind to reality. "That's just the problem."

"How?" Leo's cadence of child-like speech had not matured in the moments between his sentences. He was seeking the simplest of answers.

"It's just that - it's a lot." Cold fingers traced the veins on Leo's hands. "Yes, I like you, Leo. You're… you're important to me." Nico's voice was steady, he controlled it in such a way that it concealed the slightest bit of rockiness, the smallest of ripples.

It was true, what Nico was saying. Leo meant a lot to Nico.

Leo was the surprised bit of laughter that came from an unexpected joke. He was an old board game with missing pieces and fond memories. He was breathless laughter and lingering touches and orange sunsets.

Leo was captivating in the most unconventional ways. His plain eyes sparkled when he spoke and crinkled when he grinned. He could glide across the concrete on his skateboard effortlessly, his lithe frame and nimble movements giving him the coordination necessary to ollie off of ledges and slide down railings.

He was smarter and more attentive than he let on. Leo could pinpoint Nico's emotions to a tee just from watching his movements. He was the kind of person to wait while you tied your shoe to make sure you didn't get left behind.

Nico could see it all in his mind's eye, a slideshow of the reasons he loved Leo.

"But?" One word, breaking Nico's musings. This was the eye of the hurricane.

Nico took a deep breath, pushing that down so he could get his thoughts across. "That's just it. I think we work well as friends. I feel like I'd be dragging you down." Nico shifted in his spot. "I don't want to pressure you into something you don't truly want. What if our friendship got ruined just because you decided you liked me for a minute?"

Leo was silent, mulling Nico's words.

"You're wrong." Simple words were never so effective. Leo took his other hand, the hand not twisted around Nico's hand, and brought it to his chin, tilting Nico's head up. Brown met brown, a flickering of candlelight. "Nico. I've liked you for ages. Since…" he thought. He really thought about it. "Since November, really."

"Leo…" Nico was uneasy. "You don't need to pretend for me. I'm fine." A lie. Leo shook his head vehemently. His left hand moved on its own, carding a black curl behind Nico's ear.

"I'm serious, Nico. This isn't some spur-of-the-moment decision. It's something I've been certain about for a while now." Leo was putting more effort into his words. His voice was quiet and level, with no jokes or exclamations or anything. Nico remained silent, so Leo continued. "I promise. I just didn't want to ruin anything either, especially 'cause I thought you were out of my league."

Nico's eyes widened in surprise, inky black pools with little flecks of gold in them. "Oh." Leo smiled weakly, squeezing Nico's hand.

"I can't explain my feelings for you," Leo admitted. "I know. I'm not good with my emotions. I can't... convey the way I feel with words quite as perfectly as I want to. But I can soundly say that I fucking love you, Nico, okay?"

It was Nico's turn for cognitive thoughts to leave his brain. "Me too." Leo laughed in surprise, but the laughter died on his lips when he made eye contact with Nico again.

Water stilled as Leo pulled Nico by his hand and brought his lips to his own. Nico hesitated before melting into the kiss, reciprocating Leo's feverish movements with his own. This kiss was longer and softer than the previous one. Leo's lips were smooth and warm, and they moved at a steady pace. Nico cupped his face, encouraged by the firm hands on his waist that made his knees weak.

Nico broke away first, smiling against Leo's lips and reveling in the moment. The kiss became a hug, with Nico's chin tucked against a warm shoulder. "Will you go out with me?" Nico asked, murmuring against his ear. The same question that had left Leo's lips had transferred onto his. Leo shivered again. The ethereal effect Nico's voice had should have been illegal, with the way it could melt Leo.

"Of course." He leaned in for another kiss, a soft, chaste thing, a brush of lips. Nico reciprocated immediately, wrapping his arms around Leo and -

"I don't pay you two to suck face," Sarah interrupted with a clear of her throat. The corners of her mouth were turned up, a rare smile. "Get to work."

Leo tentatively smiled at Nico. "Yes, ma'am. We'll be right there." Before moving to obey Sarah, Leo tapped a message onto the small of Nico's back, a message he had long-since memorized.

_I love you._

_..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was a long time coming.
> 
> i am not very happy with a lot of it, but i can say I'm glad i wrote it. thank you so much for all the support! whether you commented, kudosed, or even read it. thank you.
> 
> i will be working on some more valdangelo stuff, so if you like my writing, look out for a oneshot :)
> 
> i left some aspects of this story for a sequel, but i doubt i will be writing anything for the blockbuster universe anytime soon
> 
> i will respond to EVERY comment you leave on this chapter :) i cant respond to reviews on fanfiction dot net, so please leave them on ao3.
> 
> do i like this story completely? no. overall, i think this story could have improved in many ways and i wish i had finished the entire fic before publishing and gave it more time to be beta read and planned, but it's one of my first long fics haha. I'm only 14 and this is the biggest project I've singlehandedly done. hindsight, hindsight. either way, I'm glad so many people read and enjoyed it. at the time of me publishing the final chapter, we are at 135 kudos, 23 bookmarks, and 1693 hits. those are the best stats i have ever had in this span of time. thank u all!
> 
> (tldr:  
> sequel = possible  
> separate valdangelo one shot = coming soon!  
> new big valdangelo fic = not for a while)

**Author's Note:**

> there we are! Blockbuster should update every Friday! and it will not get abandoned lol
> 
> shoutout to beta reader @pjotings on tumblr!
> 
> join the valdangelo discord server?? https://discord.gg/6WQrydE
> 
> talk to me on tumblr @butt3rflyclips


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